Angst Much
by Drax99
Summary: Twilight accidentally transports a human into Equestria, where he discovers he has unusual powers. No one knows his purpose, expect maybe Derpy.
1. Chapter 1: The Summons

Chapter 1: The Summons

It was getting late, the sun had set, and a purple unicorn was alone in her library. She had sent her assistant out of town on an errand, not wanting him to know the dangerous experiment she was trying to perform tonight. It had taken weeks of study, practice, and searching for the right spells. Even borrowing some books from her zebra friend on foreign magics. Mostly she was reading from a large book, bound with some strange materiel, reeking of age, and just a tinge of _evil_. Some called it Black Magic, others the Arcane Arts. A modern pony knew better than to fall for such superstitious nonsense. Nothing was truly evil, just misunderstood, maybe a little dangerous, but _EVIL_? No, in her thirst for knowledge, there was nothing truly forbidden, only powers to be cautious of.

She busied herself making the preparations, clearing a space in an alcove. She used chalk to draw marks on the floor, and on the posts bordering the small space. Candles were lit, placed in very specific locations around the runic circle scrawled on the ground. Each rune and symbol was checked and double-checked to be perfectly aligned and placed around the large symbol in the center. It resembled a star of sorts, something her researched called a Pentacle... although some sources referred to it as a Pentagram. If her spell succeeded, she would open a window, however briefly, allowing her to see far off lands.

"Just imagine," muttering to herself, "If this spell works, we will have the ability to see to the far corners of Equestria! Princess Celestia will be so proud of me. She can see anywhere she wants in the land, and then help anypony in need. This will be _AWESOME_, Spike!"

Looking around, she remembered her assistant wasn't there, having been sent off to avoid him seeing what she had been up to. If this didn't work, she didn't want him hurt.

Finally, everything was perfect. She rechecked her notes, and locked the door to the Library. She didn't want to be disturbed, and although it was late, the Library was still a semi-public building, and sometimes ponies wandered in unannounced.

Levitating a large black tome in front of her she quickly intoned a passage.

"ASAROTH METRION SYNTHOS!" Nothing happened. Blinking, she looked at the page again. "Oops, wrong spell..." _'Where did that come from?'_

Flipping a few pages, she found the proper incantation, along with the note the read *_inaudible_*. '_Oh yea, _she thought,_ one of those spells you just concentrate on, but don't say..._' Blushing to nopony in particular, knowing she should have remembered that after all the studies she had done.

"I better get this done before I am too tired to finish."

Closing her eyes she concentrated on the mantra, her lips moving silently despite herself. Her horn began to glow, faintly at first, but growing steadily brighter. Layer after layer of glow built up as she concentrated on the spell, sweat dripping down her face and pelt. A static hum built up in the room as the spell grew in power, getting louder and louder as it grew. Unseen to the lavender pony, a faint shimmer was growing in the air over the symbols drawn on the floor. Slowly the ripples became stronger and more pronounced, as the air itself seemed to warp, and a tear formed. First the tear was filled with a chaotic void, dark, light, color, all blended and swirled in the fracture. With a surprisingly understated pop, the tear seemed to stabilize momentarily. The image seen was of a dark room, a bed and.. then it all went wrong.

A loud thud caused the unicorn to open her eyes, and the sight before her broke her concentration on the spell. With a startled yelp, the spell collapsed, and the backlash struck at her like a buck to the head. She crumpled to the floor, the glow from her horn winking out, and the portal closing with a loud crack, like thunder far, far too close for anypony to not startle at. But she was beyond such startlement, as the magic faded and she collapsed into unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was a loud yelp, and someone saying "What the fuck...?"

On the floor, inside the circle of runes, a shape lay stunned. It wasn't a pony. It had longer limbs, stuck out at straight angles from the body. Devoid of fur except for a short mane on its head. Pale, fur-less, and in a bit of pain, the creature stirred. Standing slowly to the impressive height (by pony standards) of 5'4", the creature stood shakily, dazed from the brief transition and fall to the floor. Yea, it was a human.

Unsure what had just happened, he stood shakily on his feet. The last thing he remembered was laying in bed, trying to fall asleep. It had been the usual night of drinking himself into a stupor, watching Youtube and reading one too many Pony fics. Swearing that this recent damn addiction would drive him insane, if the chronic insomnia didn't first. He looked around, his normally light-sensitive eyes blinking at the sudden bright surroundings. Wondering groggily where his damn glasses went to, he sighed that he was also nekkid, and in a strange place. Well being nude was normal, that's how he slept, but he usually woke up where he went to bed, in his room. Unfortunately, without his glasses, everything was out of focus, and he was cranky to boot at having finally gotten to sleep, and being woken too early. Dammit, he had work in the morning!

Looking around, everything seemed more out of focus than normal. He could usually squint a little, and see what was going on. But this seemed.. off. Everything was flatly colored, like he was in a cartoon. Even holding his hand close to his face, he couldn't seem to make out detail, just a flat wash of colors. This was not good. He could normally see so good at close range to see the pores in his skin. Now everything was like a nightmarish Van Gough painting, all bright colors and sharp lines. And the air.. it was wrong. He recalled how most of his life he could feel things others couldn't. Electromagnetic fields were as tangible to him as water. A bit of a gift he was born with, being able to walk through electronic stores, and wade from field to field being projected by TVs and other high powered devices. He seldom told people of this. He knew from an early age he was different, and the fewer things he shared, the better he fit in with the other people around him. Being able to detect even weak electromagnetic fields was one of his gifts. Gifts... yea that was a joke. As much as a curse as anything. Everything made him different. Everything made it harder to blend in with his fellow humans. One more piece of ammo to use against him.

But this was different. it felt like he was swimming in warm water. The entire room made his skin tingle with the telltale signs of a strong power field. It was like the time he stood near a field of power transformers. Almost choking him in its grip. After a few moments he noticed some differences. The world came a bit better into view, he was able to discern shapes. it looked like.. bookshelves? Well bookshelves if they were designed by Fred Flintstone, or mebbe Tex Avery. And then there was the power field. It wasn't all over like warm water, it flowed. It seemed to be stronger in one direction, toward a purple shape ahead of him. He stumbled forward, almost tripping on a lit candle. Suddenly the smell of burning beeswax assaulted him s his other senses started to kick in to heir normal hyperactive levels. Yea, of course, everything worked overtime but his eyes. With a sigh, he moved slowly toward the thickening power field. It felt like the time he had worked on an old TV, the CRT giving out a massive electrical charge that he could feel like water on his skin, as the hairs on his arms danced. Slowly he approached the purple shape. It was fuzzy, purple, with different shades fading away from the large spike on top. Carefully he reached out to touched the protruding shape, gingerly making contact with the source of the field.

As he touched the unicorn's horn, he suddenly knew everything. Light blossomed in his head, power flowing into his body like an electric current. His vision snapped into focus, just moments before he was knocked back by a massive static discharge. Groaning, the human gets himself together, slowly getting up off the floor. First thing he notices is he can see. _'FUCK YEA! I CAN SEE!' _Then he realizes, he's not in Kansas anymore. The room swims into focus. All cartoon analogies went out the window, as he realized he was seeing everything in detail now. No glasses needed, the room was crystal clear. And whats more, he felt STRONG! He had always been strong of mind, but his body had always failed him. Able to think circles around most people he met, even the most average of bullies had always bested him in physical strength. Not that he was a weakling. He could lift several times his weight with his back and legs, but he was sadly out of shape from years of computer work, and his arms were never that strong. Now he felt like Atlas, able to hold the world on his shoulders, and still flex pretty for the fans. His arms were toned like never before, and his small paunch, a legacy of inactivity and onset diabetes, was now a solid six-pack. And looking down...

'Well damn,' he thought to himself, 'Either I'm having the best fuckin dream ever, or the friggin Lok'Nar has just teleported my ass to another world'. Yea, he looked like DEN from Heavy Metal, but still had hair. And his junk was swinging in the wind. Oh man, if his ex could see him now... Mebbe he was dead? He checked his pulse, still feeling a strong beat.

With a slightly insane grin, he intoned "Hell, its about time..."


	2. Chapter 2: Warm Welcome

Chapter 2: Warm Welcome

"Hell, it's about time"

The sound of a voice dragged Twilight out of the darkness. She groggily came awake, groaning as pain raced through her entire body. She hadn't felt this bad since Rainbow Dash tried to give her flying lessons. Levitation and magic were just no substitute for real wings and pegasus maneuverability. Her eyes hurt from the light, her body ached like a massive bruise, even her hair seemed to hurt! Again she groaned, trying to get up, and blinking against the light in the room.

"Hello, Twilight."

At the sound of a strange voice, her head shot up and her eyes snapped open to reveal a horror before her. There was a creature unlike anything she had seen before. It was pale, almost hairless, as if it had been shaved. Standing on two hind legs, and it's front legs crossed in front of it, it stared at her with what looked like a smile on its face. A short patch of fur, not even a proper mane, and a patch lower down was the only significant bit of fur. More bizarrely, it seemed to have it's tail on _backwards_, hanging in front of it's body.

She quickly scrambled back, knocking over a candle and several books in her panic. "W-w-what are you! Don't h-hurt me! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Shaking his head, the creature began to chuckle softly, "I'm not gonna hurt you Twilight Sparkle", using her full name to great effect. "And as to what I am, you should know. You seemed to have summoned me after all."

"I didn't summon anything! I-it was a viewing spell. _How_ do you know my name!" the young mare was still panicking. She tried desperately to remember what happened. The spell was perfect, what could have gone wrong? How did this _THING_ get here? Who was he.. it seemed to have a male voice, and how did he know her?

"A viewing spell eh? Seems you were trying for a window, and made a door instead. As for how I know your name, that's kinda... complicated." He sank to the floor, making an attempt to come down to her level and appear less intimidating. Years of dealing with kids and animals had taught him a thing or two about earning trust, and appearing friendly. "Lets just say, I know alot about you. At least... I _think_ I do. I'm still not sure this isn't just a really fucked up dream. It ain't a flashback, never was one for drugs, but this is just too damn weird to be real."

The purple unicorn stopped shaking, trying to gather her courage to face this strange creature. What he said made a mad kind of sense. What if she _HAD_ opened a door? But a door to where? The spell should have only shown her a far part of Equestria. She sank to her rump with a groan. _ 'Dear Celestia, what have I done?'_

"Well, if I wake up," he continued, "then I know it was a dream. Never was a fan of reality, so I may as well enjoy this fantasy while it lasts." Rubbing his chin in thought, and idea came to him. "Oh I have an idea! Quick, give me an order! Tell me to do something!"

"What? Why?"

"C'mon, just do it, I wanna test a theory."

"Umm... how about you go away and leave me alone?"

Grinning, he replied, "How bout you go fuck yourself, pony! HAH! That kills _that_ theory!"

Her hears shot back as she grimaced at the profanity. "That was totally uncalled for, and not very nice."

"I'm sorry, I apologise. You are totally right, but I wanted to test something. Lotsa stories I have read about creatures being summoned say that the summoner gains control over the summoned being. Looks like you don't control me, so it's a good thing I'm friendly." Looking around the room at the strange runes, something between Celtic runecraft, and kindergarten pony drawings, he realized that his nearsightedness had also gone, replaced with strong eyes to match his stronger body. "Either you did the spell wrong, or forgot a binding geas or something."

"I told you, it wasn't supposed to be a summoning spell. I was only supposed to have a window to see far away." She stomped her hoof, earning a jolt of pain from her abused body. "Ugh... I hurt all over."

"Sorry, still trying to figure this all out." he replied.

"Yea, well when you do, please let me know. This is one parasprite damned mess I've gotten into." She laid her head on her hooves, sighing.

"Well it could be worse. You could be in another world, naked, and talking to a strange creature from a cartoon."

"A cartoon? What's a cartoon?" She perked up a bit, always eager for knowledge.

"Umm... dunno if you have them here. Let me try to explain. In my world, we have ways of taking lots of drawings, filming them in sequence, and playing them back, like a moving picture. It is called animation, or a Cartoon. I got a zinger of a revelation for ya Miss Sparkle. In my world, you are a creature from a story, and they made one of these cartoons about you. Also Ponyville and all your friends. He rolled his head back, staring at the ceiling. "That is why I think I must be dreaming, because you can't be real."

"You're crazy."

"Well, I will give you that."

"B-but, how? How can I be a story in another world? Have you been watching us with your magic? And what _ARE_ you anyway?" The young unicorn was irritated at this.

Looking back at the purple pony, the creature stared right into her eyes, giving her a chill. There was an odd intelligence in that gaze, despite the strange appearance and small eyes. They still burned with a light unlike anything she had seen.

"Are you sure you really want to know this?" he began slowly. "I will warn you only once. I never lie, for any reason. What I tell you may not be what you want to hear, or want to believe, but it _WILL_ be the truth." Suddenly smiling softly, "Or at least the truth as best as I know it."

She gulped, suddenly unsure after the dire warning. "Yes. I want to know. I _need_ to know."

"Very well" he began.

_I am a human. I come from a world we call simply "Earth". Well most of us do, since there are many different people and cultures, and languages I only know the language I was born into. Seems that whatever brought me here made me able to understand yours as well. We are a race of creatures, that our great minds say evolved from apes, although others don't believe in that. Nobody knows for sure. _

_Anyway, my name is Drax. Well really it's Draconis Maxmillian, but my friends all call me Drax, since I was a kid. The world I come from has no real magic. Instead we have technology. We harness the powers around us through machines and invented gizmos. One such invention lets us see pictures from far away, and many of us use them for learning and entertainment. Recorded shows and information is sent around the world for others to see. Another device, we call it a computer, is used to store and process vast amounts of information. We have millions of them all over the place, all linked together, sharing information. We use them to communicate, learn, teach, solve problems, and many other things._

_Well, in my world, there was a group of people that made toys.. They made lots of toys for children. One of them was a line of pony toys, and they called them "My Little Pony". Then, to sell more toys, they made a story, and animated it about the ponies. It sucked. Lots of little girls liked it, but most boys didn't. Eventually it lost popularity, and they stopped making the show._

_Many years later though, they made another version of the show. It didn't suck. This time the characters had real personality, and many people loved them. Even boys, and grown men were suddenly watching a show for little girls. Thousands of people around the world watched the show, and fell in love with the ponies. Fans drew art of them, wrote stories about them, even made music._

_And that show was about you, Twilight. You and your friends._

"And now here I am, talking to a pretty little unicorn from a an imaginary story I love to watch and read about. So, tell me, am I crazy? It sure seems that way"

Twilight stared, her mind reeling at what she had heard. The story this creature was telling was far to amazing to possibly be true, but she had no way to prove otherwise. Her head swam, she felt dizzy, and then suddenly it all snapped back into focus as what the human had said sunk in.

"You.. think I'm _pretty_?" She blinked, her mouth falling open.

"Well, yea. I may not look like much to you, but to me you are a beautiful creature from a dream world in my head. And I've learned to admire beauty in many places."

Shaking her head, "I don't understand. You are weird. I'm not even very pretty by pony standards. I'm just a shy bookworm that has some talent at magic."

"Don't sell yourself short Twilight. You _are_ special. That is why you have such great friends, and Princess Celestia cares for you so much. I told you, I never lie. You just need to believe in yourself."

"I dunno, but it still seems weird coming from somepony like you"

"Yea, well I _AM_ weird." he chuckled. "Actually, I wanna know something. Could you.. turn around for me?"

Suddenly nervous about taking her eyes off the human, she stood up. "What? Why?"

"I just wanna get a good look at you. Just turn in a circle so I can see all of you" He grinned suddenly, adding, "I tell you what, I'll do the same next so you can get a better look at me. So whaddaya say, you show me yours and I'll show you mine?" He laughed.

Clearly not getting the joke, but not able to think of a reason not to comply, She slowly started to turn, wincing as her body protested the movement. The pain was getting better, but she still felt sore.

As the pretty pony turned around, Drax sighed sadly. "Yep, I'm definitely going to hell for this." He noticed that, dream or not, cartoon or not, the pony was anatomically correct. _'Damn you evil thoughts! It's a friggin child's cartoon, ya weirdo!'_

Hearing this, Twilight stopped and faced the human, who was now looking down and covering his eyes, as if in shame. "What? Is something wrong?"

"No." he said sadly. "At least not with you. But there is definitely something wrong with me."

"Suddenly worried, she took a few steps forward, but suddenly stopped as he started to get to his feet. He was _TALL_. For a pony, at least. Almost as tall as Princess Celestia. And.. something was different about him.

"Well, I guess it's my turn." he said, slowly turning in place.

Then she noticed... his tail wasn't hanging anymore. He finished his rotation, and she noticed he definitely didn't have a tail where one was supposed to be. However, the one he had, had gotten larger, and was starting to point outwards.

'Umm... what is wrong with your tail? And why in Celestia's name is it in the _FRONT_?"

Laughing loudly, he shook his head. "My dear Twilight, I certainly hope you are not _that_ sheltered. I do not have a tail. I am, for lack of better description, a male of my species. If ya know what I mean.

"Oh? OH! _OMYGOSH!_" As comprehension dawned on her, she turned deep red and turned her head away. "Eew! Why is it hanging out? You're not.. umm...?

Laughing again, "No, trust me. This is normal for my kind. Unfortunately nature was not as kind to us as many other animals, and our.. umm.. junk, is permanently exposed. We usually wear cloths for that reason. You should see the females. Breasts are permanently enlarged, instead of only during pregnancy. Oh how I love me some boobies!"

"But.. how do they WALK? I mean, always having them hanging down there?" the confused mare boggled, sneaking a peak back at the human's member, before glancing quickly away again.

'Well, for one thing, humans have their mammies on their chest. You may have noticed my nipples up here." he said, tapping his own chest.

She slowly glanced back, trying not to below the waist. "Oh, umm.. Yea, that makes sense, I guess. But, why is your... umm, it's kinda pointing at me." Turning completely around to avoid the sight.

Dropping back to the floor to hide the offending appendage, he rubbed his neck embarrassed. "Yea. well that's why I am prolly gonna go to hell. And that's why I am weird. And that's also where it gets a bit complicated. But before we go there, could ya help me by finding something to wear? As much as I like to think of myself as a nudist, it's pretty damn inconvenient to talk to a girl with my weather vane pointing in the wind."

Glad to find a distraction from the uncomfortable subject, the unicorn trotted off to find something. 'Umm sure, I think I may have a blanket or something you can use."

"That'd be awesome."

She returned shortly with a small green blanket, a spare she kept for Spike, but big enough to wrap around a human frame. Standing, he slowly turned away, and she turned her back, again feeling her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.

"Thanks, I think I can make a makeshift kilt from this." Wrapping the blanket around himself, he managed to secure it tightly, so that it wouldn't fall at the wrong moment. He made a mental note to find some way to secure it more permanently later. Then in a horrible Scottish accent, he drawled, "Och, I be a haalanda noo! Thee kin bee onleh ONE!"

Giggling at his oafish antics, Twilight turned back to find him a bit more presentable, the embarrassed flush fading from her muzzle. 'Yer silly!"

"Yea, well I try!" Grinning stupidly. Then sitting back down, making sure that he was covered now, he sighed heavily again. "Ok, here is where I really weird you out, and possibly make you hate me. Don't feel bad, I get that reaction alot, and I'm used to it."

Sitting on her rump, the mare looked at him quizzically. "It cant be that bad, can it?"

"Oh yes it can." He rolled his eyes._ 'Here goes nuttin!'_

"Ya see, I was never very popular growing up. I was always a lil too smart, a lil too slow, a little too .. _something_, to fit in. I was teased alot. My dad was abusive. I saw alotta things in other humans I didn't like. how they treated me, how they treated each other, how they treated the planet, ect, ect."

"That's sad. Your parents were cruel to you?" the pony tried to sympathise. It was hard though, she had always had loving parents and caring teachers. She never had many friends until recently, so some of this she understood.

"Meh. My parents were average. That wasn't the problem. Even at a young age I noticed I was different, and it took me a long time to accept it. Alotta pain and angst was felt until then. But hey, what kid doesn't have angst, right? But anyway, I finally accepted I wasn't average, and never would be. But in the meantime I had developed a distaste for my own kind. I tried, but girls usually rejected me. Eventually I grew to not care at all. I started to collect art. pictures, drawings, things like that. I found drawings of non-humans, and felt closer to them than my own species. I watched _ALOT_ of cartoons as a kid, and grew up seeing cartoon animals as friends. Intelligent, friendly, and _NOT_ human.

He paused to gauge the story so far, but the purple mare was enthralled, staring at him like children often did when he told stories. It was kinda creepy then, and it was kinda creepy now. Mentally he shrugged. _'Well, kids love me, animals love me, so why not intelligent talking ponies?'_

"So anyway... As I got older, I found the internet. That's the network of machines I told you about. It had lots of pictures. I found. err.. racier stuff. Creatures that looked like the cartoons I knew, but with more.. _adult_ features. I found I liked it. Alot. And I found others like me as well. They called themselves '_Furries_'."

Taking a deep breath, he forged on, the mare still staring entranced at him. " Well it seems alot of them are attracted to the idea of being non-human. They pretended that they were creatures, animals, and other such, but intelligent like humans. _Sentient_. I liked this idea, and started making friends with them. I even dated a few of them, but it didn't work out. Many of the girls I met were even more broken emotionally than me."

"And then there were the haters. Many people hate anything and anyone that is different than them. They saw Furries as some abomination, thinking that they were people that liked to mate with animals. I'm sure there were some really twisted people that did that sort of thing, but that wasn't what it meant to me. To me it just meant liking someone that was sentient, intelligent, but not a human. Real animals have no say in what is done to them, and that is disgusting and abusive. I wanted to be with a _PERSON_.

He stopped again., thinking, _'Here comes the hard part. If she didn't get it before, she will now.'_

"So, what I am saying is, I find non-humans attractive. I find the ponies of Equestria attractive. And I find _YOU_ attractive. And that is why I popped a boner when I saw yer Plot."

"Wait, my _WHAT?_" Startled out of her trance, Twilight Sparkle lurched back in surprise and indignation.

Laughing silently as he shook his head, he tried to explain. "Sorry, its kind of an inside joke. Fans of the show joke that they watch it for the plot, when they are actually watching it to stare at cute pony butts."

"_EEW?_" She looked back over her flank. "That's just... you were... at my? Eew. That is kinda creepy."

"Told ya you would hate me. But I'm used to it."

Plopping the offending flank on the floor out of sight, she turned back to face him and rolled her eyes. "Well I don't _hate_ you. It's actually kind of flattering. But it _is_ creepy. And you say lots of your people look at ponies?"

"Well yea, but not all of them are like me. Most just like you because you are pretty, have personalities they can relate to, or make them happy. Most of them don't even know why, only that watching ponies makes them feel good for some reason. Only weirdos like me get aroused by it. Sorry..."

"Don't be. Everypony is different. Some ponies like different things. My dragon assistant, Spike, is obsessed with my friend Rarity, and drools at the sight of her. I swear my friend, Rainbow Dash, used to date a Griffin. That's no weirder than you. It takes all kinds, they say."

"That's nice of you." He smiled. "It's so refreshing to meet an open mind. There are so few in my world."

"Yea well that's me, Twilight Sparkle, the great free thinker of Equestria!" beaming proudly.

Drax stood up, stretching his stiff muscles from sitting on the floor. Twilight stood up as well, but quickly regretted it as her body reminded her of all the pain she was in from earlier. She yelped and winced as her abused body protested the quick movements.

""Are you ok? Whats wrong?" Drax leaned close, hovering over the small unicorn with concern.

"I-I'm allright. Something happened with the spell. It backlashed, and now my entire body feels bruised. My muscles are all cramped up."

"Oh damn, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?" he fretted worriedly.

"Well, there is a first aide kit in my room, and I could probably use some help getting to my bed. I'm sure I will be fine after I lay down for a bit. Maybe you can help me get up the steps?

"Sure thing. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can carry you. You cant weigh half what I do." he estimated her weight, realizing she came barely up to his chest, and that she was rather lightly built. Even before he came here and started feeling stronger, he would probably be able to carry the young mare without difficulty.

'No, no. I don't want to trouble you, just help me walk so I don't stumble, and then maybe you can help me get the medicine."

"Nonsense!" he scooped her up, as she yelped in surprise. She really was rather light. He carried her effortlessly up the stairs to her room.

"Oh.. thank you. My Hero!" she giggled. She snuggled up to him as he carried her. "Mmm... you actually smell kinda nice..."

"What?" he replied, startled.

"Oh, nothing. I just... thanks for the help." She closed her eyes, a calm look on her face.

"My pleasure, M'Lady." He replied smoothly, "I shall escort you to thy chambers for the eve!" grinning foolishly.

"Oooh, so gallant!" laughing with him.

He lowered her gently to her over-sized bed, then looked around for something resembling a medical kit. He spotted a bright yellow box on a shelf, with a large pink and blue butterfly on it. _'I'll be damned, just like the story... That's gotta be it'_ He retrieved the box, which opened with a simple latch, finding basic medical supplies inside. Gauze, splints, rolled bandages, and several bottles with strange markings on them.

"So what do you need?" Not sure what to give her.

"Umm.. the one with the tree on it. That's willowbark extract. Tastes horrible, but great for pain. I'm gonna need something to wash it down, I think." She grimaced at the thought of the foul concoction. Fluttershy had given her the kit, and explained the uses of the different potions, but she also explained that some medicines had to be given with a treat, or her animals would refuse the taste. "There should be a yellow bottle with a bee on it. That's honeyblossom. It will make anything taste sweet like honey. "

Retrieving the requested bottles, the human eased them open and offered them to the aching mare. She took a sip of the second bottle, then the first, still grimacing at the bitterness, masked by the sweet potion. She thanked him with a sigh, as the sweetness overtook the bitter, and the pain started to ebb slightly.

"Better?" he said, as he put the supplies away. He noticed something with a picture of a mint leaf on it, and fished it out of the box. "Hmm, what's this?"

"Yea, a lil bit better. It will take awhile to take full effect." She looked at the small jar. "Oh, I think Fluttershy said that was ointment, for muscles. She makes it for the spa to use on their customers.

"Perfect!" he said, grinning. "I have an offer to make, and feel free to decline, but it also comes with a warning."

"Oh? Do tell..." The mare stretched out on the bed, some of her aches starting to feel better. She could smell that scent again. Something about the strange human made her feel so relaxed. She trusted him, and couldn't understand why. He was friendly enough, but the look of him was still a little jarring. But she had to admit, he was growing on her. _'Hah, like a shaved teddy bear... eew?' _ She giggled to herself.

"Ok, one of the , err talents I have, is I am good with my hands." He held them up for her to see. She blinked at the strange appendages, so like a dragon's claws, but soft and rounded. "I have been told by professionals that I am a natural at giving massages. And I would probably have made a great one, except that... well I really don't like touching people much."

She looked puzzledly at him, wondering where this was leading, but knowing already to let him ramble in his own way. Besides, he smelled so.. nice.._ 'Whoa there Twilight! What on Equestria are you thinking!' Eew! Hes not even a pony! Although he was a male... ew ew ew ew! Stop it._

"So anyway," he continued unaware of her internal dialogue, "Hows about I give you a massage? I can help ease some of those cramped muscles and pain you were talking about."

"A massage? I umm... never had a massage before. I- don't even know you. I dunno..."

"Well it's up to you, never had any complaints before, but I do gotta warn you. When I am done, you will either be the most relaxed you have ever felt, and fall asleep, or be hornier than you have ever been in your life." He laughed at his own joke, knowing from past experience, he actually _WAS_ good at this.

'_Oh Celestia, that sounds so good. And it has been a long time since.. NO! don't go there filly, he's a human! His hands are probably all creepy.' _ The mare considered the offer.

Taking her silence as a negative, he gave up, shrugging. He stood to leave. "Well, nevermind. You get some rest, and I am gonna find a couch or something to crash on. I was actually falling aslee..."

"Yes." she interrupted him.

"Hmm?" he turned back to the reclining pony.

"Yes, I would love a massage." she said, still uncertain, but still feeling so.. _safe_, around the strange creature. "Just.. be gentle. I'm still pretty sore."

"Not a problem. Why don't you roll over onto your belly, and I can start on your back and flanks." He motioned for her to roll over, and opened the small jar. Inhaling, he smelled.. mint.. and menthol. Maybe a hint of something astringent. _ 'Mmmm... home made Ben-Gay. Just what I needed.'_


	3. Chapter 3: Caress Me Down

Chapter 3: Caress Me Down

Gathering some of the ointment on his hands, Drax started to rub them together to limber up and start the blood flowing. This caused his hands to warm quickly, as he focused on his breathing. Years of self-taught meditation came to the fore, and he partially closed his eyes and willed his hands to grow warmer. This was always a neat parlor trick to pull on friends on cold days, shocking them with astonishingly warm hands. He wasn't entirely sure how he did it, only that he always could. Gently he knelt beside Twilight, and brushed aside her mane to reveal her neck and shoulders. She gave a little gasp as he touched her hide, less like the fur of an animal, and more like fine purple velvet. He began at the neck, working the shoulders and easing along it's length. Her neck was alot longer than a human's, but the muscles and bones were similar enough that he knew instinctively where to apply pressure for maximum effect.

He closed his eyes, humming deep in his throat, a kind of human version of a purr. One of the non-human habits he seldom talked about. He slid into a trance, as his mind flowed into his hands, seeing everything he touched as vivid as if his eyes were open. This was the true secret to his skill. After years of being nearsighted, he found that he could see almost as good with his hands as he could with his eyes. The trade off of course was that it took concentration, and the part of his mind that processed sight seemed to shut off. It was a fair trade. In places his hands could go, his eyes were useless anyway. Sometimes he thought he could have been a pickpocket if he had ever the inclination and training.

The mare moaned under his ministrations as he worked the shoulders and then down the back a ways. Slowly the muscles and knots started to melt away, and the purple unicorn twitched at the released tension. Next came the foreflanks. He made his way down each foreleg, slowly keeping in one direction to stimulate the blood flow and release the tensions that had build up in the young mare. She was more than just sore, she probably didn't get out and stretch much either. Unused muscles were suddenly flooded with extra blood and the stored toxins flushed away in a flood of calm and relaxation.

He finally made his way to the hooves, where he broke out of his trance for a moment. The sensation was too odd not to look. Her hooves weren't like the hard pieces of horn on normal horses. They were almost an extension of the end of her leg, but suddenly the skin seem to get stiff and hard. It felt almost like extremely dense rubber, not as soft as a car tire, but not as hard as a real hoof. _'They really do have marshmallows for feet.'_ he grinned to himself.

A giggle brought him back to what he was doing. "Sorry, does that tickle?"

"Heh.. a little. But it feels nice. I don't think anypony has ever touched my hoof like that."

"Oooh, so I'm your first?" chuckling at her lethargic response.

"Don't stop... I have three more hooves left..." wiggling her other limbs enticingly.

"Yes M'am, right on it!"

He moved to her other side, again traveling down her forelimb to her hoof, and working more ointment into her silky pads there. He then returned to her back, stretching her forelimbs, and then working down her spine with meticulous kneading. Low moans escaped the prostrated filly as she tried not to squirm in pleasure at his touch.

'_Mmmm.. hands sure are useful for things... almost makes me envious.. OH! yes right there!'_ she thought as he worked on her lower back. Too many nights hunched over a book had left mounds of tension in that area. Not to mention the stress of letting Spike ride her around town.

Finally Drax peeked at his next assignment, sliding her tail aside and grinning stupidly. "Mmmm.. Dat Plot!"

"Wha?" she replied sluggishly, feeling almost ready to fall asleep.

"Oh, nothing..." he replied, rather sheepishly.

"You're silly..." she giggled, and wiggled her rump at him.

Gulping, he began to work on her lower flanks, chanting a mantra to himself, _'Think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts!' _ But even with his eyes closed, the image of the perky purple booty wiggled in his mind. _ 'Damn sexy Twilight...'_

Working father away from the distracting area, he made his way down to the hind hooves. He spent extra time on these, gambling that pony nervous system was similar enough to human, and that a hoof massage would drive the unicorn wild. His gamble payed off as Twilight began to twitch and moan at the tender massaging he was giving her sensitive hooves._ 'Well damn. Is it any wonder so many weirdos develop foot fetishes? Lotta nerve endings down here, heh'_

Suddenly Twilight pulled her legs away, curling into a ball, then rolling onto her back to sit up. Her eyes were wide, and looked as if she was about to cry. "Oh Celestia, that was _AMAZING! _ Where the heck did you learn to do that?"

Grining proudly, "Well I mostly taught myself. But I did date a girl who's sister was a professional massage therapist. I picked up a few things from her. Plus I have always had a gift for feeling things. I just know how to bend and flex things to mold or break them, and I love working with my hands. Oh, and practice, lotsa practice, heh."

"Well, whatever it is, you were right. I am more horny than I have ever been since hitting puberty!" She gasped, both hooves flying to her mouth in shock at what she had just said in front of this human. This.. weird creature, who found her _attractive_. This.. _'Oh damn, he's starting to look cute to me! Luna damn these filly hormones, its been so long!'_

But the strange creature was smiling softly, almost sadly, despite the emotions playing across her purple muzzle. "I did warn you. But don't worry, I'm not gonna jump you or anything. I am, after all, still a gentleman." He began to rise, sighing. "You want me to leave, so you can.. uhh.. y'know... take care of yourself? I'm a big boy, and I know what it's like." he shrugged.

"Wait." She replied. _'Oh Celestia, oh Luna, forgive me!'_ "Please stay. You said you found me pretty. Have you ever.. you know... with a... " She gulped.

"With anyone not a human?" he shook his head violently. "Never. I told you, I'm not into animals. The only _PEOPLE_ on my world are humans. Ponies like you and other intelligent creatures are only fantasies in my mind. Until I met you, there was never any chance, outside my own dreams."

"Well you have me curious what else those "Hands" of yours can do." Her voice suddenly turning husky, she leaned back, spreading her hind legs slightly to expose her rather damp nether region.

"Mrs. Sparkle, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?" Raising an eyebrow, and smiling slyly.

Giggling foalishly she fluttered her eyelashes, just like the fillies in her romance books. "Maybe..."

"Well then. In the name of inter-species relations, I accept your offer!" Whipping off his makeshift kilt, he tossed it on the bedpost, and leaped onto the bed with a bound yelling "To boldly go where no man has gone before!"

Twilight giggled happily at the foalishness of it all, still not sure if she was doing the right thing, but feeling too warm and comfortable to care. And besides, she _REALLY_ needed a stallion right now!

Sliding his way up her belly, rubbing his face against her smooth, velvety hide, the human made his way up her body until he reached her muzzle. He looked into her enormous violet eyes and saw the entire room in her pupils. They were like twin pools of liquid night, ringed by blacklights. He smiled at her blush, and reached his hands up to pull her head toward him. The eyes closed, shutting off the dark windows, and they drew into a kiss.

The first kiss was awkward. Pony muzzle and human mouth were not entirely compatible without practice. He tasted the sweetness of the honeyblossom on her lips, and they slid together sloppily. The both pulled back and giggled.

"Well that was different." he chuckled. "You taste nice though."

"Mmm.. you're not too bad yourself, for a monkey. "

"Hah" he barked. "I admit I'm not the most experienced kisser, but I'm willing to practice some more."

"Yes, this merits further study." and she leaned in for another kiss.

This one was a bit more controlled. They explored each other's mouths, muzzle on lips. Tasting the strangeness of each other's breath. Tongues were joined, only slightly, teasing in a breathless dance, before they both broke away, gasping.

"Wow! You are a quick learner." she gasped.

"Yes, well us monkeys usually are." he jibed her back.

"So you can use your tongue, and you can use your hands. What else can you do?"

"Oh the wonders I will show you, my sweet purple pony. Let's see what noises I can get you to make!"

He started at yer neck, slowly kissing, licking, nibbling. He worked his way down her belly as she leaned back on the bed and moaned. As he reached the nipples on her lower belly, she gave out a squeak and clapped her hind legs shut around him.

"Woah there filly! I'm trying to work down here!"

Moaning in pleasure, she released the grip on his head. "S-s-ssorry.. _ohdontstopSQUEEE!"_

She writhed in pleasure as he worked on her sensitive nipples, using hands and mouth to generate waves of pleasure that crashed throughout her small purple frame. She bit down on a forehoof as she felt her body growing hotter by the minute.

Finally he lowered himself to her cleft, slowly probing it with tongue and fingers. Her moans grew louder, and amazingly she seemed to get even wetter as he worked around her already sopping crotch. Finally he spread her labia to reveal the pinkness of her ponyflesh. He began going to work, face covered in mare juice as her moans reached a fever pitch. Finally she started to buck, clapping her legs shut again and let out a loud whinny as she climaxed in his face.

He pried her legs apart and pulled back, gasping. "Woah, the waters get rough, when yer diving pony muff!" he laughed at his own lame joke.

"Oh Celestia, that was wonderful!" she crowed. "I have never climaxed like that before in my life. That was better than described in the _"Filthy Horse"_ books I read as a filly."

Wiping his face with the kilt, Drax chucked at the ego feast he was receiving. Every man loved it when women said that kinda stuff. _'It's especially nice when they arn't lying about it.'_

"Are all humans as good as you?"

He felt a chill, as the smile momentarily faded from his face. "I wouldn't know. Not alot of experiences have come my way." Then he reapplied his smile, and perked up. But we aren't even done yet. Now it's _MY_ turn!"

"Oooh, come get me my big stallion!" she cooed a line from one of her old clop novels she read during long nights in school.

He dove back in, sliding up her belly again. This time he stopped with his member at her front door, probing gently at first. He looked into her eyes again, feeling as if he was falling into the darkness within. She hugged him close and nuzzled his ear, whispering huskily, "Service me, Stud..."_ 'Oh parasprite, that was corny!'_

He thrust in, balls deep, and the pony squealed in pleasure. Starting slowly, he built rhythm, thrusting faster until Twilight started to match him. Together they bucked with wild abandon, letting their bodies take over consciousness, as the world became one of touch and pleasure.

Again the warmth spread through her body as she built toward climax. This time it was stronger, and she closed her eyes to concentrate on the growing sensations. Unseen, her horn began to glow of it's own accord, and she quickened her pacing as the human quickened his. She pulled him down and bit on his shoulder, almost sobbing as she moaned in ecstasy. The glow from her horn grew stronger, and started to envelop her body. A deep purple glow began to layer her body, as the lavender one around her horn intensified. Finally, as the power and pleasure peaked, her eyes flew open and light flooded out. She screamed in climax, and Drax held onto her as he finished his own, and clenched his eyes shut as light filled the room and blazed out of every window in the library. For a moment, it was as if the sun had emerged in the room, and every corner was illuminated.

Then just as suddenly, the light winked out, and the mare closed her eyes. The twin glows faded away and both lovers collapsed on the bed with a collective sigh.

"Wow.." she said quietly. "I was wrong. I think that one was a new record."

Shaking his head, Drax grinned. "Always the cute nerdy girls that get all freaky in bed. It figures you would have to be a screamer too.."

"Are you complaining?" She said, batting him playfully on the head with a hoof.

'ErrrrNOPE!" he replied happily.


	4. Chapter 4: Water Sports

Chapter 4: Water Sports

The afterglow of the night's activities was short lived. Just as the couple was considering bathing options to correct their now sweaty and indecent state, there was a loud pounding on the front door. They both looked at each other in surprise, not sure how to react to an intrusion, or the revelation of their recent activities.

"Oh shit, should I hide? I don't wanna be chased outta town as some monster, or something." Drax said, as he jumped out of the bed and scrambled for the blanket/kilt. Images of ponies with torches and pitchforks came to mind._ 'Urrrrrrgg.. Fire Baaad!'_

Twilight, even more panicked, and reconsidering what she had just done, quickly ran down the stairs to stop the visitor from coming in. "Oh Celestia, there couldn't be a worst time for a visitor! Who the hay is about at this hour anyway?" As she neared the door, the pounding continued, and she could make out a familiar voice calling to her.

"Twilight? Are you in there? I see the lights on! C'mon Twilight, I gotta know if you are ok! What was all that light? " The voice of Rainbow Dash sounded worried, and little frantic. Not her usual overconfident self.

Opening the door slowly, she was knocked back as a blue blur exploded into the room. The pegasus stopped at the sight of Twilight and dropped to her hooves with a cry.

"Twilight! Are you ok? What the hay was all that light? It lit up half of Ponyville and almost made me fall out of a cloud I was sleeping on!

"Oh, sorry Rainbow Dash." The purple pony nervously stammered, "I was up late trying a new spell.. umm.. and I guess it kinda.. umm..

"What smells like mint?" Dash interrupted the flustered mare, sniffing the air. "And.. sex? What the hay are you up to in here and why do you look like you... _Ooooohhh!" _ Her eyes went wide as she realized what she had stumbled into_._ "So, you been holding out on us eh, Twilight Sparkle? Not as sheltered as we thought. Who you shackin up with in here? Do I know him? Do I know _HER?" _ She put a hoof around the mortified pony's shoulders and winked knowingly.

Shrugging the hoof off, Twilight stepped away indignantly. "Dash! Even if I was "Shacking Up", I don't see how it would be anypony's business." She fumed, and stared the blue pony down.

'Aww c'mon Twi, I'm your friend! The loyal one, remember? If you cant trust me, who can you trust?"

"Dash, please leave. We can discuss this in the morning. And I would appreciate it if you keep it to yourself in the meantime." She pointed toward the door, still embarrassed and irate at Dash's lewd behavior.

Suddenly another voice was heard calling down from the upstairs bedroom. "Aww go easy on her Twilight. She has to find out eventually."

Both mares turned to see something strange. For Rainbow Dash, it was half expected. For Twilight, it was a total shock. And it was no less than the night's previous shocks to her system. She stood with mouth hanging open and eyes wide as a midnight black stallion walked down the steps. He was as tall as Big Macintosh, and his coat was like pure black velvet, which reflected no light, but seemed to eat it up. His mane and tail were a deep indigo purple, almost the same shade as Rarity's, but not quite as luxurious.

And he was still wearing the blanket.

"Well hello, tall dark and handsome!" Dash piped up at the sight of the new stallion. "Wow Twilight, you really have been keeping secrets. Who, may I ask, is your coltfriend?"

Sputtering, the unicorn snapped out of her shocked daze. "C-c-what? He's not my coltfriend! He's, umm. He's just..."

"We aren't dating," he cut in, before she could finish, "is what she means. We are just friends. Having a little sleepover, is all. My name is Drax. Pleased to meet you Rainbow Dash."

"Squee! He knows my name!" the blue filly flushed. "If you aren't dating him Twilight, would you mind if I took a swing at that? Not many eligible bachelor's around Ponyville these days."

"No! I mean, yes. I mean.. oh horseapples... I don't know what I mean anymore!" She stamped her hoof in frustration, and glared at the stallion. "How the hay do you look like that? And what is wrong with your _WINGS!"_

Rainbow Dash blinked. _ 'Wings? How the hay did I miss that?'_ and noticed that the Stallion _DID_ have wings. The darkness of his coat matched the wings, so that they blended in at first glance. But something was _WRONG_ about them. The stallion looked back, and flexed the wings, and the difference was immediately visible. Where a pegasus had softly feathered wings like a bird, his were large, smooth, and leathery, like a dragon, and the undersides were a rich purple, like his mane.

"Oh, yea... " he muttered. "Well, this is my first try at a transformation. And I have always imagined myself as a Dragon. I thought maybe that I could mix it up a bit, and be a pony, but still have a little dragon. So I went with the Dragon wings, and a Dragon Cutie Mark." He flipped the blanket up to show them. "What the?"

His flank, was blank.

The two mares gasped at the sight. A full grown stallion with a blank flank? That was unheard of. Even Twilight, who knew the colt's true nature was taken aback by the sight. It was almost like looking at a pony who had a disfiguring scar.

"Hmm, I don't get it, there should be a purple dragon head with green eyes." Puzzled, he didn't notice the reaction the other two gave him at first. Then he had and idea. "Hmm.. I guess either I goofed up the spell, or maybe I haven't been here long enough to earn my real mark like other ponies."

"But wait a minute, " Twilight sputtered, snapped to her senses again at the mention of spells. "How can you even cast a spell? You are clearly not a Unicorn, and you aren't even a real pony!"

"What do you mean he's not a real pony?" Dash cried, her voice cracking a little. The situation was beginning to really freak her out, but she refused to lose her cool. "What kinda weird spells have you been doing in here Twilight? What in Celestia's name _IS_ he if he isn't a pony?"

"Well isn't that an interesting story." Drax began, "But I really don't feel like telling it here. We both need to clean up, and I would rather we didn't have any other ponies barging in just yet. So I say, you come with us, and we can explain everything."

Dash looked at Twilight, but she just looked at Drax, shaking her head. "What do you mean? Where are we going?"

"Well I have an idea I wanna try, but I need a little bit of help. Dash, are there any nice hot springs we could wash up in around here?"

Dash shook her head "Not nearby. The nearest ones are about half a day travel to the west of here. It's the middle of the night, and its not a good area to travel through at in the dark."

"Perfect! Don't worry about travel. Just describe to me as best as you can the location. I want to try something, and if it works we will be alot more comfortable.

Rainbow Dash ran her hoof through her mane thinking. "Well... its big. There are alotta rocks around, and the place is fixed up as a spa. Not alotta ponies there this time of year, and usually only other pegasai make the trip out there. There are some.."

"Perfect, I got it!" Drax crowed. _And then the world went sideways._

The three lurched to their hooves shakily. They were outside at night, and the area was lit by pools of light coming from fay lamps around the area. Nearby water could be heard bubbling, and the cool breeze brought the smell of salt and minerals.

"WHAT. THE. HAY!" Rainbow yelled. "What the hay just happened?"

Twilight, used to teleporting herself, realized what had happen, but was stunned, not understanding _HOW_. "That shouldn't be possible.. that _JUST ISN'T POSSIBLE!"_

Drax, turning around to face the startled ponies, replied "I'm sorry, but nopony ever told me. I'm still new to this magic thing, so until I get the rulebook, I guess I'mma have to write my own rules."

"But you teleported, without a horn, without seeing your target, and brought TWO of us WITH YOU! That is unheard of in magic. I studied for YEARS before I could move myself even a few inches. You did it in only a few HOURS!"

He shrugged. "Well maybe I have my own magic here. I am just making this up as I go along, but I am used to just knowing things, and not knowing how I know. And as for knowing where to go, Rainbow Dash showed me."

Clearly shaken, the blue pegasus stepped back, her wings braced for flight. "Woah dude, did you read my _mind?_ That is NOT COOL!"

Shaking his head, the stallion tried to explain. "No, no, I can't read minds. Or at least I don't know how... yet. But I had you broadcast the image to me by having you describe it. It was like you were yelling it at me, and I couldn't help but hear it. But I cant read thoughts or anything. Emotions mebbe, sometimes, but not thoughts."

"Soo.. you got the image from Rainbow Dash, and used it to pull both of us here?" Twilight was still stunned. She didn't even know if Princess Celestia could do that. Teleportation was a rare ability, and never seen outside of Unicorns.

"Yea, pretty much. I dunno, I just got the idea in my head, and I had to see if it would work. I had to make Dash concentrate really hard to get anything at all."

"Well that's no surprise. She's known for her speed, not her smarts." Twilight chuckled.

"Hey, Buck You, Twilight! We cant all be eggheads!" Dash cried out, but then laughed at her friend's jibe.

The stallion smiled at the interplay between friends. "Well so far I am just making thing up as I go along. I keep getting hunches and ideas, and all I can do is try them to see if they work. So far I have been able to do most things that pop into my head. Although the cutie mark thing has me a bit confused. Mebbe it's one of the rules I can't bend or make up myself."

"I think we may need to ask Princess Celestia about it." Twilight replied. "If anypony would know it would be her."

"I dunno if that is such a good idea yet." Shaking his mane worriedly. "If she is as old and powerful as they say, she may know exactly what I am, and where I come from. And she may not be happy about having me in her realm. My kind don't exactly have the best reputation for being peaceful and kind. Even I have my dark side, although I have spent my entire life trying to hide and control it."

"Hmm.. you may be right, but we will have to tell her eventually."

Looking more and more confused, Rainbow Dash looked back and forth at the interplay. "Are you two gonna tell me what you are talking about? My head is starting to hurt."

The stallion perked up. "Oh yes, it's time to explain I guess. But first let's get in the hot spring and relax. It's a bit of a strange story, and I'm feeling a bit filthy right now."

Drax and Twilight got into the nearest pool. It was lit from below by submerged lights, so that even at night the area was well lit, if deserted.

Dash, however had other plans.** "Cannonbaaaaalll!"** She cried, flying up and dropping like a rock, her body compressed into a ball. She hit the water with devastating effect, splashing water all over both of her companions, and the surrounding floors. They all laughed as she surfaced, and then screamed when she shook her multicolored main, splashing them with warm water.

"Rainbow Dash, you just wouldn't be you if you didn't show off!" Twilight piped.

Grinning proudly, "Well when you are the best flier in Equestria, you need to be sure everyone knows it!"

They all laughed, and then luxuriated in the warm water of the bath. Drax had discarded his blanket, not really needing it as a pony. Ponies didn't have to worry about things like clothing, and he preferred it that way. Rainbow Dash even showed them a small cart that held shampoo and other grooming supplies, and they used these to wash each other. She even let the stallion scrub her mane for her, as Twilight giggled at the bonding scene before her.

"Don't laugh Twilight, he's actually pretty good at this." She sighed as he finished, splashing water to rinse out her mane. "For somepony that claims to not be a pony, you sure are good with your hooves!"

"Ahh.. yea, I'm still trying to understand how ponies hold things. It's like some sorta localized telekinesis, but only on my hooves?"

Twilight perked up, finally hearing a subject she understood. "Yes, its a gift that all ponies share. Earth ponies tend to be a bit stronger at it, able to hold heavier objects, but all ponies can touch things with their hooves and move them, but only if they maintain direct contact."

'Well that is awfully convenient..."

"And pegasus ponies can use the same ability on things that aren't solid." She continued.

"Yea, we can kick clouds an stuff!" Rainbow Dash chimed in. "And walk on em too. That's how we move clouds around to make the weather. Oooh... that feels so good..." she moaned as he massaged the base of her neck and shoulders. Her wings started to unfurl and lift out of the water.

Twilight giggled. "You two look like a couple of fillies at a sleepover, so sweet."

Drax just stuck his tongue out at her, blowing a raspberry. She couldn't help but notice it was also purple, an odd color for a pony, most of which had orange tongues.

"Yer just jealous because I'm getting the awesome spa treatment." Dash replied. "You should come over here, and I can wash your mane for you.

"I can wash my own mane myself, thank you." Twilight replied rather primly. "Maybe you should ask him for one of his massages. They are simply amazing!"

Dash turned around and eyed the black stallion playfully. "Oh really? Gonna give me the full work-over eh?"

"Uhh.. mebbe later." he mumbled.

"Awww...! Yer no fun!" She turned around to face him. "My turn! Turn around so I can wash your mane too!"

"Oooh, I never knew you were so fillyish Rainbow." The unicorn teased. "What's next, gonna get some makeup from Rarity?

"Nuttin wrong with being fillyish if you are a filly. I usually just don't have time for all that frilly froo froo stuff. I'm too busy training and working." The pegasus replied, defensively.

She began to wash the stallion's hair, and he mutely leaned back to let her access it. He was a bit taller than her, almost as tall as Big Mac, and so he crouched deeper in the water to accommodate her.

As she began to lather his mane, she leaned close and breathed deeply. "Mmm... you smell nice..." She whispered in a voice full of longing.

"Ahh.. ahem.. yea. I've been told that." he fumbled, suddenly aware of the wet mare pressing up against him. "I think it may be pheromones, or something. Of course I have always had a way with other creatures, and I'm great with kids." He began to ramble nervously, "I dunno, I seem to be able to attract and calm everything but women of my own kind."

Pulling away, she managed to lower her wings, and slid across the pool to face the other two, a determined look on her muzzle. "Ok then, spill it. I wanna hear this amazing story you keep hinting at."

Drax sigh._ 'Here we go again. Freak out time.'_ He began his story, with Twilight Sparkle filling in some of the gaps. They managed to gloss over the intimate parts.

Sometime later, the blue pegasus was simply staring at the other two ponies. It was all too weird to believe. If it wasn't for Twilight's testimony, she would have thought the large stallion to be completely insane. Even the strange wings and lack of cutie mark was small compared to what they were telling her.

"So let me get this straight. Twi, you summoned him, from another dimension. And he's some sort of super smart monkey thing. But now he's a pony, with weird wings." She took a deep breath as Twilight and Drax nodded. _"AND YOU MADE OUT?_ _Please_ tell me he was a pony at the time."

"Oh Dash! Don't say it like that! Twilight cried, annoyed at her friend's reaction. "You make it sound more horrible than it is. He is really a nice and friendly guy, and I feel I am SAFE around him."

"Oh, I know what you mean. I felt it too." She sighed. "He said something about far-o-whatsits, making creatures like him"

"Pheromones." Drax corrected her.

"Whatever. What are they?"

"Well, I don't know if ponies have studied it here, but most creatures give off scents that reflect their moods and such. You smell afraid, happy, and other stuff. Most ponies can't smell them, but they are effected all the same. There are others as well, and some can cause arousal or other emotions. Think of it like aromatherapy candles. That's one theory at least, and would explain why you fillies keep saying I smell nice.

He paused sighing. "I like to think I _AM_ a nice and gentle kinda guy, that you can trust and rely on. So, maybe you are picking up on that as well. Then again, I have a hereditary gift with animals, and plants. Kinda a nature freak. Runs in my family."

"You mean like Fluttershy?" Twilight perked up. This was all fascinating stuff! She was learning so much about this creature and how he thought. "She is a yellow pegasus friend of ours that takes care of animals."

"Yes. I think she has the same gift. I am also good with plants."

"Oh wow, I bet Applejack would love to meet somepony gifted with plants." Twilight replied, thoughtfully.

Rainbow Dash wasn't done yet though. "Ok, ok. I will buy it for now. You are some sorta freaky monster that is all nice and cuddly. You smell nice and ponies like you. You can do weird magic that even our resident egghead unicorn can't explain. _(Twilight shot her murderous glance, which was ignored)_ But now you look like a pony and a dragon bumped uglies? That I am having trouble with. What do you REALLY look like? Show me!"

"You really sure?" Drax grinned, and slowly tilted his head sideways. _'Oh yea, it's freak out time for sure!'_

The look in his eyes made Rainbow Dash think of the time she found Pinkie Pie alone, talking to rocks and turnips. She gulped nervously, but steeled herself. "Uhh yea! Show me!"

Feeling he had creeped her out enough, the stallion snapped his head straight again and mimicked Pinkie Pie's perky voice. "Okie, Dokie, Loki!"

He began to blur. It made the blue pony sick to her stomach, like falling too fast and spinning out of control. She had to look away. When she looked back, something else had taken the place of the handsome stallion. Something... _weird_. She heard a scream. It took her a moment for her mind to catch up to her body and realise it was her own screaming. She was already in full flight mode, trying to leap into the air to fly away. Unfortunately, wet feathers are not very good at quick flight, and she only managed to splash the water before sinking back into the hot spring.

"Well, that was rather dramatic." Drax drawled.

"What the hay are you!" she screamed.

The human rolled his eyes at Twilight. "Gee, that is so familiar. Where have I gotten that reaction before?"

Twilight giggled at the joke. The sound of her friend's laughter snapped the panicked pony out of her fright, and she stopped trying to crawl away and out of the water.

"It's not funny! You scared the horseapples outta me!" Rainbow Dash was now panting heavily, and flexing her wings slowly in agitation. A sudden pain let her know she had pulled something in her panicked flight. Now her wing didn't want to close properly.

"Ow, dammit!" She cried, "I think I popped a wing."

"Oh damn, Dash, I'm so sorry." Drax moved toward her. "I tried to warn you I look different, but some ponies just need to learn for themselves."

He reached toward her, but she shrunk back. "Don't touch me! What the hay do you have on your hooves!"

"They are called fingers." He stopped, and wiggled them in front of her. "I know you have seen Spike's hands. Same thing, just softer."

"Let him look at it, Dash. " Twilight said, sobering up with a worried frown. I wasn't kidding when I mentioned his massage. He can do some pretty amazing stuff with those hands of his."

"Thanks for that glowing endorsement, my dear Twilight Sparkle. I also know a bit about first aide, if she's hurt." Drax advanced again on the pegasus.

"N-no, its fine, I'm fine! I just need to relax it a bit." Dash stammered, worriedly.

"Seriously, dude, lemme take a look. I can help. I'm getting another hunch, and I think I can fix your wing."

"You sound like Pinkie Pie, and her twitches... A Hunch huh?" Dash was still wary. "You can take a look. But try anything funny, and I will buck you up good, mister!"

"Yea, yea. You say that now, but then you get a headache, and its yer time of the month... blah blah?" he joked.

"Huh? What's he talking about Twilight?"

The unicorn rolled her eyes. "Ignore him, he says weird stuff like that alot. I guess on his world it would be funny."

"Actually, most people on my world don't get my jokes either." He laughed. "I keep telling you, I'm weird, and so is my sense of humor."

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash got the joke, and began laughing. "Hahaha..I get it now..OUCH... damn. It hurts when I laugh."

Gently Drax took the wing in his hands, running his fingers over the soft surface gingerly. He tried not to place any pressure, but just let his senses drift across the muscle and bone. As he reached a joint, he felt something wrong. A slight bit of heat was coming off it, and when he touched the spot, the pony hissed in pain. He stopped a moment, thinking, then motioned for her to lower the wing into the warm water.

"Ok, first get the blood flowing. The warm water will help that. Then I need to see if I can use magic to accelerate healing. I don't think anything is broke, but I'm still new at this so need to be extra careful. Most likely it is just a sprained joint, and will heal on it's own. I am just going to speed things up!"

"I know some healing spells, Drax." Twilight offered. "I can maybe show you and help"

"No. I think that I need to do this my way. So far I have been able to make up my rules. If I use your rules, then I may become bound by them."

The purple pony tilted her head and looked at him strangely. "Do you realize, that nothing you just said makes any sense?"

"Well that is exactly my point." He grinned back at her. "Trust me."

"But?"

"Trust. Me."

"Ohh.. I want to, but.."

"It will be fine. If it doesn't work, you can try to heal her."

"_WILL SOMEPONY JUST FIX MY WING!"_ Rainbow Dash shouted, losing patience.

"Yes M'am! Right on it, STAT!" Drax quipped.

He closed his eyes again, like before with the massage. He let his mind flow into his hands, enhancing the sensitivity of his touch, but this time, he did more. As he concentrated, again purring to himself, he felt the flow of the energy around him. It was always there, like a giant transformer, sending out a magnetic field to cover him. He concentrated on absorbing it, and channeling it into his outstretched hands. Unseen to him, they began too glow faintly, getting brighter as the magic of Equestria was pulled to him.

Suddenly, he thrust his hands into the water, and made contact with the injured wing. The pegasus flinched, but then relaxed as she felt no pain. Instead a soothing warmth spread from his touch, and the pain faded away. In his mind, Drax suddenly saw every detail of the wing structure. It was like watching an episode of CSI, where the camera showed the inner workings of some victim. He saw the stressed joints, and felt the damage. As the glow intensified, he concentrating on fixing the damage, forcing the body to repair itself faster than it normally could. Within moments, the wing was wrenched out of his grasp, as both of them went rigid.

"Holy Celestia, you just gave me a friggin wingboner!" Rainbow Dash cried. "That was as good as_ SEX!_"

Drax stumbled back, shaking his head, as his mind was wrenched back to reality. "Woah.. that was a hell of a head rush! Made me all dizzy."

"Wow Doc, you did a great job! My wing actually feels stronger!"

"Glad to help. You need to be more carefu..."

He was cut off as he was suddenly tackled my an athletic blue wall of curves. Both forehooves and wings were wrapped around him, and she planted a sloppy kiss on his face. After a few moments, she let go, and giggled. "Thanks!"

Dazed, he just swayed a bit, falling backwards into the pool. "Naprobebb-b-b..." he mumbled as he slipped under the water for a moment. Then suddenly he burst back to his feet, yelling. "Wooo! That was unexpected! Guess yer over my weird looks now eh?"

Meanwhile, Twilight was cracking up laughing at the very un-Dashlike display she was seeing. "Are you ok Dash? You are acting a little strange"

"Oh, I'm fine. Never better. No, I mean literally. I have never felt better in my life. I feel like.. I could take on all the Wonderbolts at once, and make them look like _CHUMPS!_"

Drax looked back at Twilight, grinning. "Think I overdid it a bit?"

Thinking a moment, she replied, "Naa... This is Dash we are talking about. If she wasn't boasting, she would be asleep. And she would still be dreaming about winning."

The both laughed, as the blue flier flexed and postured like a body builder. "No shame in knowing you are the best! No shame at all..."


	5. Chapter 5: Into The Blue

Chapter 5: Into The Blue

Drax started to climb out of the pool with a groan. "Well I'm starting to get all pruned. We should prolly dry off a bit."

Rainbow Dash however, had other things on her mind. "Wait a minute. You promised me one of those awesome massages. I could really use one now."

He looked over to Twilight to judge her reaction. The last thing he needed was a jealous filly-fight between two friends. And he _was_ kinda tappin dat purple plot... Unofficially at least.

Twilight however, seemed to think it was a wonderful idea. Sharing her new friend with her old friend sounded absolutely scandalous, and she was feeling rather generous all of a sudden. She grinned wickedly and urged them on. "Oh I think that would be a great idea. Give her the full works, Drax."

"Oh boy"_ 'What have I gotten myself into now... What's next, a threesome?' _ Drax groaned to himself.

But Twilight seemed contented to watch, as she used her magic to towel herself dry, then laid her head on her hooves, a wicked gleam in her eye. _'This is going to be better than those trashy novels!' _She thought to herself.

Drax and Rainbow Dash gathered some blankets and towels, making a soft spot to lay down. He instructed the pegasus to lay face down, and most importantly of all, to relax. This wasn't easy for the blue flier, as she was used to only relaxing on clouds or in trees. And she especially wasn't used to having strange creatures _TOUCH_ her while she relaxed. She started to have second thoughts, and was about to get up.

"W-wait, I dunno about this now."

Drax leaned his weight on her, forcing her back down. "Oh no, yer not gonna weasel outta this. Just relax, I promise not to bite. Unless you ask me nicely."

Nearby, Twilight laughed at her friend's sudden loss of bravado. "Stop being such a foal Dash. It's actually kinda fun."

Rainbow Dash gave in, slumping back to the ground, with her forehooves under her chin. "Oookay. But this better be good!"

Drax once again rubbed his hands, warming them. This time it seemed even easier to slip into the trance as he used some of the magic he was sensing to augment his tricks. His hands were practically on fire when he made contact with the blue pony. She yelped at the contact, but immediately sighed and relaxed as the warmth soaked into her body and started to spread.

He once again worked the long neck, and the base of the skull, working down to the shoulders. The pony let out little whimpers of pleasure as she felt the melting sensation of her muscles relaxing. A pony who constantly trained as she did rarely lost all tension to their body, as she was always ready for the next physical demand. This was different, however. It was like a drug, slowly seeping through her veins and making her entire hide tingle.

He used a bit more force on her legs, as they were much more muscled than Twilight's. It was all whipcord tight, a lean acrobat's body. But under his ministrations, even these sinewy cords were soothed and made soft. Her hind legs were next, once again he worked from the buttocks down, eliciting a giggle from the blue pony as he massaged her cutie marks.

Nearby, Twilight had started panting herself, as she slipped her hooves down her flanks, and began to massage her own body. She moaned softly to herself as he began to clop at the sight of her two friends in such an intimate position. Drax heard this and glanced at her, getting a grin and a tongue stuck out at him.

Beneath him, Rainbow Dash muttered, "Donstop.. feesh gooo..."

Grinning, he returned to the job at hand, noticing that her wings were fully extended, and rather stiff looking. _ 'Now we cant have that, can we?' _ He started at the back, and massaged the joint where the wings met, feeling for each muscle and bone beneath the skin and feathers. In his mind, he mapped out the placement and motion range of each part of her wing. He reached under the wing and started to massage the iron-hard muscle corded there, getting more moans of pleasure from the little pony girl.

'_Forth hole'_ he thought to him self. _'Giggity!'_

The blue pony began to writhe under his touch, as her sensitive wings were slowly worked from back to tip, and the rigid muscles rendered flaccid at his touch. Moving to the other wing, he let the first flop, looking lifeless and broken now. _'One down...'_

The moaning from the direction of their audience got louder as she started to really get into it. _'Oh yess.. much better than reading about it!'_ she thought to herself. She was now very wet and rubbing hard at her nipples and crotch. The warmth wasn't as intense as when she was with the human, but it was still building inside her as she worked her tender bits.

Meanwhile, Drax was finishing the second wing, and the little pony beneath him was almost totally limp. She whimpered to herself and moaned, panting softly. He leaned down to gently kiss her on the cheek. "Feel better now?"

Suddenly his head was in a lock hold, as the pony gripped him close to her. She had tears in her enormous rose-tinted eyes as she pulled him toward her and nuzzled his ear. "P-p-please..." She whispered, "I-I.. I need the stallion.." And then release him from the deathgrip.

Shaking off the sudden attack from the horny pegasus, he grinned evilly and muttered, "I always knew you weren't a lesbian!"

"I'ma wha?" she replied somewhat confused.

"Nevermind. One Stallion, cumming up!" He paused a moment to look for Twilight's reaction, still expecting a protest of ownership, or jealousy.

The unicorn was far to busy making wet clopping noises between her legs with her hooves, only stopping a moment to complain. "What are you waiting for? Service her, ya big dummy!"

Laughing silently to himself, he began to blur again. He appeared to melt into a black smudge, before refocusing into the pitch black stallion, with the violet mane. He was already unsheathed, and looked ready to perform his duties to the blue mare.

Rainbow Dash stuck her blue rump in the air and wiggled it back and forth, smacking him teasingly with her multi-colored tail. "C'mon Stud, wanna ride the rainbow?"

Without a word, Drax grabbed both of her cutie marks and jammed his muzzle into her waiting sex. He began to lap greedily at the already wet flesh there, and rub the entire area with his muzzle. It was a little different from having hands, but he found his pony lips and tongue were more than up to the task.

In response, the blue pony squirmed and moaned loudly, not holding back anything in her excitement. The hot springs echoed with enthusiastic pony noises as she pawed the ground with her hooves. Suddenly she whinnied, and a gush of warm pony juice squirted onto his muzzle.

He pulled back and licked his muzzle clean with his long purple tongue. "Mmm.. tastes like Skittles!"

Still panting, she just wigged her rump again and moaned, "Finish what you started, already!"

The stallion laughed, and slid forward to mount the little mare, positioning himself for entry. First he poked around for the opening, but then suddenly she pushed back and enveloped his horsemeat. He responded with a grunt by finishing the thrust and sinking himself into the blue pony.

Rainbow Dash's eyes grew huge as she gasped, "Ohmygosh! Toobigtoobigtoobig.. Nnnnggh!"

Drax continued thrusting slowly at first, as the mare relaxed a little and took his colthood. It got a little easier as she started to match his rhythm, and the over-lubricated ponytunnel did what nature intended.

Nearby, Twilight was coming to her own climax as she whinnied loudly and slowed her frantic clopping. She lazily continued massaging herself as she watch her friends go at it with wild abandon. She felt herself getting warm again, and quickly started to work up another lather at the sight. As she finished a second round, she lay on her side panting a few moments, before the show before drew her attention again. She started to creep forward to get a better look.

The two ponies were now going full steam, with all four wings splayed straight out like some freakish Chimera. The double wingboners flapped in time with the thrusting, and wet slapping noises filled the area.

Rainbow Dash started to chant as her climax built, "Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ..."

She was getting steadily louder, and chanting faster. ""

Suddenly her eyes went wide again as she felt Twilight's head under her flank, starting to nuzzle her teats like a foal. The sensation drove her over the edge as she screamed at the top of her lungs. "OMYGOSH-OHMYGOSH- ... OH SHIT!"

Twilight started to pull back as another gush of ponyjuice dripped down the pegasus's flanks, and narrowly missed getting a facial when the stallion finished close behind, withdrawing his member, still shooting his seed.

"Eeep! You almost got me!" she cried, and plopped onto her rump with a laugh.

They all collapsed into a tired heap, laughing at the situation. The randy couple were still panting heavily, and trying to catch their breath, while the unicorn laughed harder at the sight.

Soon they were all grinning at each other, and Rainbow Dash stood up, still dripping, to stare at the stallion with an angry gaze. "Look what you did! Now we need another bath!" Then she broke into a huge grin, before launching herself into the pool again. "GERONIMOOOOO!"

The stallion looked at the unicorn, who just shook her head with a grin as they walked much more sedately toward the pool. Soon they were relaxing and smiling, not caring about the strangeness of their relationship, or the unusual situation it created.

Suddenly Drax was caught off guard as his shoulder was rocked by a vicious jab from Rainbow Dash. "An who the hay said I was a Lesbian?" she cried, indignant, but with a sparkle in her eyes.

Trying to recover quickly from the sudden attack, Drax stammered. 'Oh, uhh.. that. Well, umm. Lemme explain." He thought furiously for a way to explain it. "You see, remember when I told you how in my world, all of this is a story, and there was a show made after you and your friends?"

Dash merely nodded, forehooves crossed. She still wasn't convinced of that part.

"Well, there are alot of people that have written their own stories, and given their own outlook on how the characters really are. They fill in the blanks left by the stories with what they feel should be the back story. " He paused for a reaction, but both ponies were still just staring at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Umm, the thing is, because you are a bit of a tom-colt, and act sorta masculine..." He paused as the blue pony raised an eyebrow, still not saying anything. "And, ya see.. in my world, humans that prefer mates of the same gender have adopted the rainbow as their official symbol. Soo... all that put together has most folks thinking that you are most likely gay, and only like other fillies."

"_WHAT!" _She exploded. "Just because I don't act all filly like Rarity, and have this awesome mane, folks think I'm a filly-fooler? That's just horseapples!"

"Yea, I agree. I grew up around lots of tom-colts, and even dated a few. Never found the behavior to mean they were a filly-fooler." He shrugged, "I mean, some of them were... but usually they were bi, not totally gay."

The pony sighed, "Yea well, I admit I experimented a bit in flight school. But who didn't? I was young, and curious."

Grinning, he replied, "With Gilda?"

"What?" Her voice cracked in shock. "How do you know? I've never told anypony. Not even my friends here in Ponyville."

"Well, the way she acted around you, was very jealous." He rolled his eyes again. "And she did seem like a straight up dike. Very Dom, and more than a little butch."

Twilight chimed in with a snicker, "Yea Dash. Everypony in Ponyville could see it. She was all over you like a jealous old flame."

"Oh horsefeathers..." the pegasus sighed, slipping into the water. "No wonder everypony thought I was a filly-fooler then. " She came back up for air a moment later. "She really was a Dike, only into fillies and hens. I mean it was fun for awhile. We had alot in common, so it was only natural that we, ya'know, shared other things. But she started to get all weird on me. She started getting into all the whips and bondage stuff, and it really freaked me out. If there is one thing a Pegasus cant stand, it's being tied up! So we split up, and just stayed friends."

Twilight came to her rescue. "Don't fret about it Rainbow Dash. Like you said, everypony experiments at one time or another. Even I had a fling in magic school when I was a filly. And besides, the Equestrian population _IS_ 80% female..."

Rainbow Dash perked up. "Well that explains how you knew right where to nuzzle me. I thought I was gonna explode! Wow girl, you are alot deeper than I ever knew."

"Yea, well you kinda _DID_ explode there Dashie..." She grinned. "I can still taste you on my muzzle."

*FWOOMP!*

The pegasus's wings shot into the air, and she turned deep crimson at her friend's words. "Aww dammit Twilight... Don't say stuff like that! It's embarrassing."

They all laughed at this, as the blue pony tried to lower her wings. She finally just sunk into the pool to cover the offending limbs, until the warm water made them relax. Finally they finished rinsing off and stumbled out of the pool to dry. New towels and blankets were found, and the old ones, now rather worse for wear, were buried in the bottom of a waiting hamper.

As they settled down for sleep, the two mares took up positions on either side of the dark Stallion. He covered them with his wings, and they nuzzled against him for warmth.

Suddenly he grinned. "I gotta say it..."

Twilight looked at him puzzled, "Say what?"

Still grinning, he replied, _"BEST NIGHT EVER!"_

His response was a punch in the flank from Rainbow Dash. "Shut up and go to sleep!"

They all laughed, and snuggled down for the rest of the night.


	6. Chapter 6: Oddyssey

Chapter 6: Odd-yssey

Morning. Drax hated mornings. He always hated the brightness, the noises, the energetic people, all happy and chipper. He was always nocturnal by nature, usually preferring to go to bed as the sun was coming up, and sleeping into the afternoon. Rarely did he get the luxury in a diurnal world. He didn't believe in good mornings either. If he was awake before noon, it _was NOT_ a good morning.

But today was different. The light didn't bother his eyes, and the warmth of the rising sun warmed his black hide pleasantly. The sound of the flowing water the the nearby birds was soothing. The feeling of the two mares cuddled up against him wasn't too bad either. He was in a magical world, and he wasn't human. It was like a dream come true.

Which meant he hadn't woken up in his old world. That meant it was probably real. He was still absorbing the fact, when suddenly the rainbow-maned mare next to him exploded.

"OHMYGOSH! Omygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She was yelling frantically, and pounding herself on the head with a hoof, as she fluttered about the area in a panic. "No nononononono! This cant be happening, _THIS CANT BE HAPPENING!_"

Twilight came awake at the outburst, and Drax looked at per puzzlingly. "What the hay are you so upset about?"

"My life is _OVER!_ All my dreams are ruined! _NO NO NO NO!_ I cant believe I was so _STUPID!_"

Twilight was on her hooves now, head tilted in confusion. "What do you mean it's over? What is wrong Dash?"

"Dammit, I was such a foal! _I'M IN SEASON!_" She cried, as she dropped to the ground in a heap, sobbing convulsively.

Drax just looked at her. "I know."

Looking up with tear stained eyes, a fire began to grow as her despair turned to rage. "You _KNEW!_ What do you mean you knew? How can you? How _COULD YOU!_ You ruined my life! I can't have a foal! I can't take 11 months off from training! And how can I join the Wonderbolts if I have a foal to take care of? No no no! I can't be pregnant. Not now, not when I am so close!

Sighing deeply, the stallion replied. "I know because I can smell it. Remember what I said about pheromones? I'm one of the few that can consciously smell them. I knew you were in heat the moment I met you. And even if I didn't, your body language gave it away to me. Kinda hard to hide what your wings do. But relax. You are not gonna have a foal"

Rainbow Dash launched herself at him, bowling the startled stallion over and landing on his chest. She grabbed his head in her hooves and moved her muzzle inches from his. "_WHAT. DO. YOU. MEAN?_"

Unfazed by her attack, he bucked her off, and got to his hooves. "Calm down. You forgot something very important Dash. The one reason you cannot be pregnant." He glared at the rainbow maned pony, as she flipped onto her feet and stared challengingly at him. Then he unfurled his large draconic wings, flapping them slowly for effect. "I can't get you pregnant, because I am not a real pony. I can no more impregnate you than Twilight can."

Blinking in surprise, Rainbow Dash sank to her rump and just stared. "Oh."

Twilight moved over to her, putting a hoof on the stunned pony's shoulder. "It's true Dash. Even the three pony tribes cannot interbreed without special spells. And Princess Celestia is one of the few that know the cross-race magics. Even I don't know that spell. That is why pony couples that want to interbreed must travel to Canterlot and ask for Celestia's blessing."

"Oh..." she replied, quietly. Then looked up, with a wicked grin on her muzzle. "So that means we can... y'know... all we want?"

Drax and Twilight both rolled their eyes in unison. Drax sighed and replied, "Yes.. but not today. We have ground to cover, and we really should get back to Ponyville before they send out a search party."

"Awww... Yer no fun!"

"On the contrary, " he replied drolly "I was lots of fun, last night..."

With a laugh, the pegasus leaped into the air. "Now who'd bragging?"

Grinning, he quipped back, "No shame in knowing you are the best! No shame at all..."

They all laughed, and then set out on the journey home.

The forest was beautiful. It was like a dream of a fairytale, wrapped in green and brought to life. He always considered himself a bit of a tree hugger, and nature lover, but most of these trees were totally alien to him. Yet it was familiar enough that if he didn't look close, he could be walking through a forest in his old world. At first he stayed quiet, listening to the two fillies chat amongst themselves. He paid no mind to what they actually said, but was lost in the wonder of the forest around him. Other than the path they were on, the land was entirely untouched by any sort of industry. That was rare back home. No sound of planes overhead, no distant rumble of freeways. Not a single sounds of civilization. Only wind and the birds in the trees. He walked blissfully on this way for several hours before he noticed the pair had stopped ahead of him and were looking at something.

Looking ahead he saw a grey pegasus pony, with blond hair, and an odd look on her face. As he got closer, he realized it was a rather famous pony he knew from the fandom.

"Derpy?"

Both Twilight and Dash were unsure how to react. Dash spoke first, "Yea, that's her. I wonder what she is doing out here?"

The mail-pony was plopped in the middle of the path, sitting on her rump and staring at nothing at particular. Well, two different nothings actually. Her trademarked eyes were looking at the trees and the path at the same time.

Drax approached her slowly, with a smile on his muzzle, but the gray mare made no sign she even noticed him. "Umm.. hello Derpy. What brings you out here?"

No response. Her eyes swung randomly around in her head, but refused to focus on anything in particular. He noticed she had her usual mail bag swung over back. He got closer, and then knelt down in front of her to look her in the face. Still nothing. "Hellooo... anypony home? My name is Drax, Pleased to meet ya."

Waving a hoof in front of her face, the eyes still refused to see him, like she was in a trance. he looked back at the other two mares and shrugged. They shrugged back.

"Umm, she is usually weird, but I have never known her to ignore anypony like that." Twilight spoke up. "Is she ok? Maybe she is hurt?"

"I dunno." he replied, then turned back. He started suddenly as both eyes were now directed at him, and the pegasus's normally happy smile was missing. She was staring directly at him and her expression was totally deadpan. Somehow this was even creepier than her normal wall-eyed state.

Suddenly she spoke, and the voice sent shivers down his spine. It was as if she were talking from far away.

"_He walks the path,_

_Between deliverance and destruction._

_A Dark Past, and a Bright Future._

_Only He can choose the path_

_To save us, or to doom us all."_

Just as suddenly, she stopped talking again, and her eyes shot in opposite directions, as her normally friendly smile returned. Her voice was back to normal, as she dug in her bag and offered something to him. "Muffin?"

Drax looked down, and took the offered treat, bringing it to his nose, he inhaled deeply. His stomach growled, and he remembered it was a long time since he had eaten. Looking back at her face, he saw her still looking at him... and a nearby tree.

"Pumpkin, my favorite." She smiled brighter in response. "You knew I would be here didn't you? You knew I was coming and you were waiting for me."

She nodded happily, replying, "The muffin sees all, but understands little." Then she stood up, waving to the ponies behind him, and took to the air, quickly flying away.

Twilight walked up beside him to see what she had given him. "That was very strange, even for Derpy. Any idea what that was about?"

Drax, still looking at the muffin in his hoof, shook his head and replied, "I think she is an Oracle."

"Shes a whatnow?" asked Rainbow Dash, also joining him again.

"An oracle. Legends say, in ancient times on my world, some pon..err people were gifted with extra sight. They saw the world differently. And some had the gift of prophecy. They were often treated as holy seers, and sometimes worshipped." He sighed sadly. "In truth, most of them just have their brain wired differently. Not wrong, merely different. I have a touch of it myself, I think. It explains why I think differently than most ponies.. err, people. On my world, they call it Autism, OCD, Bipolar, and many less polite things. Just because people are different."

Dash was rather subdued, not sure how to respond to that. "Oh. And you think Derpy has the special sight? I mean, of course she sees things differently, what with her eyes and all.. but prophecy?"

"Maybe. I don't know. But that was creepy as fuck when she looked at me like that. And that sure sounded like some sort of prophecy." He looked back at the muffin. "Or mebbe she's just a friendly mail-pony with funny eyes, and a love of muffins."

"I always wondered where she gets those muffins. She always has one in her bag to give to somepony. " Twilight looked at the muffin with curiosity.

Grinning, the stallion looked back at her. "Ya know Twilight, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't know herself."

Dash looked up with a strange look on her face. "So... is that some sorta magic muffin then?"

Laughing at the idea, he replied, "Something like that. Watch this." and he covered the muffin with his other hoof, both of which began to glow briefly.

*Pop*

Suddenly there were three muffins.

He handed them each one with a smile. "None of us has eaten in awhile, so lets dig in and enjoy breakfast. Courtesy of of friendly neighborhood mail-pony!"

The mares both cheered at the prospect of food, realising how hungry they were after the long night. Muffins were devoured with glee, and then they set off on their trip once more. This time he had alot more to think about than the pretty forest, but the two mares decided to engage him in conversation instead. The meal seemed to have lifted their spirits and made them alot more social.

"So what are ya gonna do when you get to Ponyville, Draxy?" The pegasus asked.

Wincing at the nickname, he thought a moment then replied, "I think first thing I need to do is find Rarity, and get some proper cloths for when I am human."

"But why do you wanna do that? You look better as a Pony!"

Twilight chimed in, "I have to agree. I am used to you now as a human, but it will attract alot less attention if you stay a pony."

"Yea, you may be right. But I don't know the limits of the spell, and I'm not sure I am ready to stay in one form permanently. Besides, it helps to be prepared. I cant be running around nekkid with my gonads in the wind all the time. Ponies will talk!"

Rainbow Dash giggled, "Oh so that's what that was! I thought you were born deformed with a tail in the wrong place!"

Twilight joined in on the joke, admitting she had thought the same thing at first.

"Oh hah, hah. Laugh it up. I didn't hear any complaints last night about my anatomy when you girls wanted to make use of it!"

This shut them up for a moment as they both blushed a furious red. But it was short lived as they both looked at each other and busted out laughing. Dash was laughing so hard she fell to the ground and rolled.

The stallion sighed and rolled his eyes. "Mares... can't live with em..." he left the rest unsaid as he shook his mane. He continued on, leaving the two fillies to finish their laughing before catching up to him.

Farther along the path, the conversation drifted. Drax was questioned ruthlessly about his world, his people, his past girlfriends, and anything else the inquisitive ponies could think of. He managed to accommodate them as best he could, getting varied reactions to his answers. His kinda being omnivorous brought troubled looks from the both of them, but the description of his past romances were met with equal parts of sympathy and friendly ribbing. They seemed especially interested in things like computers, and television. These were foreign concepts in the land if low-tech and high magic.

Stories of the Pony fandom drew their attention the most, as they came to terms with the idea that strangers they had never met somehow idolized them. Although hearing about the shipping, grimdark, and porn drawings made them more than a bit uncomfortable.

Suddenly realizing that he did not know what version of the pony reality he was actually in, he started asking them about strange disappearances, or friends acting strangely lately. He was relieved to hear that nothing of the sort had happened to Ponyville. In fact, things were rather dull since the Gala a few weeks earlier.

'_Yes! I am so sick of hearing about that crappy piece of __grimdark.'_ he thought, with a sigh. Apparently this version of Equestria was alot closer to the show's canon._ 'Although, Derpy's behavior was definitely off, even by fan standards.'_

He shrugged it off and went back to being grilled about furries. He tried to explain it as best as he could, but even after years around that fandom, he still couldn't make much sense of it. And some of those people frankly _SCARED_ him. Ponies were a much safer topic.

A while later they were closer to the outskirts of Ponyville, having made good time. A lemon-yellow blur dropped from the treeline and almost collided with him. The pegasus yelled out to Twilight and Dash, but then realized they weren't alone. Slamming on the brakes as she touched the ground, she meeped and jumped behind a bush.

"And that would be the search party I mentioned." Drax sighed.

Rainbow Dash flew forward, trying to coax the frightened mare out of hiding. She came forward slowly, hiding behind her bubblegum mane, and finding something of great interest on the ground in front of her.

"C'mon Fluttershy, this is our new friend, Drax." The other pegasus introduced the new stallion. We are taking him to Ponyville."

"Oh.. ummm.. pleased to meet you, I guess." She mumbled, still not making eye contact with the dark pony. "I'm .. fushmumble..."

Drax just facehoofed. _ 'Here we go again. I don't have time for this with every pony I meet.' _ he thought, and sighed. _ 'At least I look like a pony this time.'_

He walked up to her, ignoring her nervous squeak, and lifted her muzzle to face him. She tried to turn away but he was stern and looked her right in the eyes. Putting every ounce of his skill and training into his voice, he began do talk. He knew he could be hypnotizing when he wanted to be, but it was something he tried not to use often.

"_Fluttershy, I am going to tell you something about yourself. I know alot of things I cannot explain, and you would not understand if I did. But you need to trust me, that everything I tell you is the truth as best as I know it."_

She merely blinked, transfixed by his gaze, and soothed by his now gentle voice. The authority in it instinctively made her want to listen. But still, she was frightened, and unused to being addressed so forcefully by a stranger.

Drax paused a moment for effect, and closed his eyes to collect his thoughts._ 'How am I going to put this...'_

"_Fluttershy, you need never be afraid. Not of me, not of anyone, or anything that walks the earth. The power of the green mother flows through you, and with her power you command the love and respect of all creatures that walk, fly or swim on its surface. You are special in this gift, and it will serve to protect you wherever you go. Once, long ago, you would have been known as a Druid, and worshipped as a priestess of the great green earth mother. Your powers come from this, in that you are a mother to all living things. Your _STARE_ is nothing more than the glare of a mother scolding a petulant child, and is strongest when you are protecting those in your care. And anypony that has seen a child threatened knows to fear the wrath of a mother protecting that child."_

"_In this, you will always be safe. Because of this you should never know fear. All life loves you, as you love all life. Your power over creatures is great, and in time you can learn to have power over plants as well. I know this because the same power flows in my family. I know this because all creatures love you, just as I love you. Never be afraid."_

He finished with a kiss to her forehead

*FWOOMP!*

Suddenly in place of the shy pegasus was a pegasus shaped statue, as her wings shot out rigid, and her eyes grew wide. She froze in place, and her face turned the color of her mane, and it spread across her body. She stared straight ahead, unmoving.

Drax stepped back shaking his mane. "I still don't understand how you ponies do that."

"What? A wingboner?" Rainbow dash giggled. "Well when some pegasus ponies get excited..."

"No, not that." He interrupted, "I mean blushing!" He gestured to the still frozen Fluttershy, still not even blinking in her shock. "How the hell do you blush through FUR? Shouldn't it cover the skin so you can't see it?"

It was Twilight that replied. "Well our fur is transparent after all. Haven't you noticed? The color comes from our skin."

The blue pegasus snickered at this. "You had yer hooves all over my flank, and you didn't even see the color of my fur?"

Drax rolled his eyes, feeling rather stupid. "Well I wasn't exactly using my eyes. But it makes sense now. Like polar bears, their fur is clear, but skin black. Just their fur is alot longer, so the refracted light makes it look white."

"What's a polar bear?" replied Twilight, looking confused.

"Uhh, its a type of Ursa on my world. Lives in areas far north, with lots of snow."

He turned to look closer at his own flank, and concentrated. His coat began to shimmer faintly, becoming less light-devouring, and taking on more gloss and texture. Now he looked like a black stallion, and not a walking piece of void.

Both mares gasped at once, and exclaimed, "Look, your Cutie Mark!"

He turned his head and positioned his flank so he could see. There on his rump was a emerald green eye. It was not the eye of a pony or human however, but had the slitted pupil of a reptile. It was clearly a Dragon Eye.

"Oh wow. I guess my fur was covering it the whole time. But that's weird, it's not the one I tried to give myself. "

"It's like I keep trying to tell Applebloom, you can't force a Cutie Mark. It will appear when you are ready, and it will be special." Twilight replied, still in awe of the sudden appearance of the stallion's defining trait.

"Awesome! Now I look like a real pony!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled, "Yea, except for those Crazy Wings!"

Drax flexed his wings, stuck his nose int he air and strutted around. "Haters gonna hate..."

They all laughed, until they noticed that Fluttershy still hadn't moved. Her flush was gone, but she was still frozen in place. Drax approached her again and put his hoof on her shoulder, looking her in the eye again. "Shy? You gonna be ok? I didn't mean to overdo it like that, but you really did need it."

She snapped awake, and returned his gaze, now looking demure instead of frightened behind her mane. She held his gaze however. "It's ok. Thank you." Then looked away. Do you really think that's true? Am I a druid pony?"

"I really do. How else could you command the respect of animals, and even creatures like Dragons? You have a great gift, and in time you will be very powerful."

Suddenly she threw her hooves around him in a hug. "Thank you, thank you so much!" He returned the hug, until she said, "Mmm.. you smell nice."

He broke the hug, and stepped back, as Rainbow Dash burst into a fit of laughter. "M-mebbe you should give her a _massage!"_

Both Drax and Twilight glared daggers at the mirthful trickster pony, and yelled, _"Shut up Dash!"_

Fluttershy looked back and forth between them, confused. "Was it something I said? I'm sorry..."

Turning back to the shy pegasus, Drax sat down in front of her and sighed. "No Fluttershy, don't be. You don't ever need to be sorry or afraid for something somepony else does. I know what it's like to be shy. Believe it or not, I am shy too."

The rainbow maned-mare blew a raspberry. "Horseapples! You have more balls than even Applejack, and that filly will walk up and talk to _ANYPONY! _ And yer almost as brave as _ME!"_

Fluttershy blushed again at the crudity of the comments. Drax never looked away, but replied, "No, I'm not. I am shy. I spent most of my life not liking people, and finding it hard to get close to anypony. In a crowd, my first instincts are to hide. But I learned to overcome this. I learned that if I wanted to be accepted as a functioning member of society, I had to learn to act.

He sighed sadly, still gazing at the buttercup-colored pony, who only had eyes for him. "I learned to wear a mask, a mask of the friendly guy. Somepony that likes people. Somepony that wants to be near people, have fun, party, and all that. Somepony that didn't want to just be left alone. But it was just a mask. Don't get me wrong, I do like friends. I like having fun, and I love helping people. But I am strictly a small-group kinda guy. Crowds, frankly, freak me out."

Twilight chuckled, "Well you better steer clear of Pinkie Pie's parties. When she gets going, half the town shows up."

Smiling again at Fluttershy, he continued. "It's ok, I can adapt. I just put on my mask. You can learn to do the same, Shy."

She started to smile and blush again, kicking her hoof at the ground nervously. _'I just love the way he calls me "Shy"'_ she thought to herself._ 'It feels like I've known him all my life.'_

He was still talking, and she focused on him again, "What? I'm sorry.. say that again?"

Still smiling he responded, "I was asking if you thought you could do that? Learn to act brave? Even when you are scared, even when you are feeling shy, you have to put on your mask, and act brave for your friends, just like Pinkie Pie does. They all love you, and it makes them feel bad to see you frightened all the time."

She smiled weakly, and nodded, "I'll try. Thank you so much." as she gave him another hug.

Suddenly a pink pile of raw energy came bounding into the clearing. "Just like I do what?" asked Pinkie Pie. She was bouncing up and down, and then shot over to the newcomer to get a better look at him. "Oooh, who's the new guy? My name is Pinkie Pie! Are you new to Ponyville? That's a neat cutie mark. Whats your special talent? I love meeting new ponies, this means I get to throw another party! ? Huh huh huh?"

Waiting for the avalanche of energy to slow long enough for a response, Drax merely blinked at the cotton-candy whirlwind as she bounced back and forth, inspecting every part of him at once and firing off a rapid volley of questions.

Finally she paused and blinked at him with her huge blue eyes, blinking and grinning. "Umm, hi Pinkie. My name is Drax. Pleased to meet you finally."

And she was off... "Oh high Draxy! What kinda name is Drax? It sounds funny for a pony name. And why are your wings funny? Saw a dragon once with wings like that once. But you aren't a dragon, you look like a pony to me and... Ooohhh..." She stopped only a moment, staring at him from behind after bouncing around him in a circle. Suddenly she started laughing hysterically. "Hahaha! that's so funny! Your butt is staring at me! HAHAHAAHAHAH!"

Turning around, Drax tried to get a look at what she was laughing at. The other ponies started to giggle as well. "What? Did you put something on my tail Dash? That's not funny, man."

Twilight stopped long enough to explain. "It's your cutie marks. From the back, the two eyes look like an angry dragon face, with a pony tail for a nose. It's actually kind of neat looking."

Pulling the blanket down over the offending flanks, he rolled his eyes. "Bah, figures it was too good to be true. Something like this always happens and gets me picked on."

Rainbow Dash flew over and put her hoof around his shoulder. "Aww it's not so bad. We are your friends, and we love ya no matter what your cutie mark looks like." He started to feel a bit better until she cracked up laughing again, and continued. "And besides.. mebbe Fluttershy can teach you to do _THE STARE_ with your butt!"

The 3 mares collapsed into fits of laughter, Rainbow dash falling to the ground again. Fluttershy just smiled weakly, and looked sadly at the distressed stallion.

Drax, finally seeing some humor at the situation, had to hold back a smile as he fake-glared indignantly at the laughing fillies. "Yea, that's right, woop it up. I just love being the butt of everypony's joke."

At the word "Butt", they all laughed even harder, and even he couldn't hold back a smile and a chuckle.

He finally stuck his tongue out at them, stuck his wings and nose in the air again, and repeated, "Haters gonna hate..." and then cracked up finally at his own lame joke.

After an abbreviated version of events, the mares all circled around him, and the newcomers asked more questions.

Fluttershy was talking openly now, but blushed whenever she talked directly to him. "So, umm.. you are actually, uhh.. not a pony? But you aren't a dragon either? Oh.. then you are not a stallion then... are you?"

Shaking his mane, "No. I made a spell to make me look like a stallion, and I am a male of my species, but I am not really a pony. I can walk and talk like one, but the genetics are different, and I cant breed with a mare, or have foals. I'm not even sure yet if I can eat the same foods. Some things we have in common, but things like grass and hay, I don't know if I can digest."

The yellow pony looked down, appearing disappointed at this news. "Oh.. ok. That's too bad. Umm.. we do, um... needmorestallions" she squeaked out, suffering another full body blush.

"Dear lord, why did I get sent to a world of sexually repressed females? It's all you fillies think of!" He laughed.

Pinkie was grinning an impossibly huge grin, and looked ready for her head to explode. "Ohh ohh ohh.. do you know what that means? If he can't get us pregger weggers, then we can have the most awesomest kinda party ever!"

"No, Pinkie" Drax tried to cut her off.

"_AN ORGY! _Because orgies are extra super duper mega fun! We can all make out and do all kinda dirty things, and Rarity can bring her toy collection, and I can have all kinda kinky fun with all my bestest westest most fabulous friends!"

"_**NO, PINKIE!"**_ Everypony shouted at once, finally stopping the overcharged pink pony, leaving her blinking.

"Awww..." she whined. Then she turned to the side, facing you, and an unseen audience. "Sorry folks, I tried!" and shrugged.

Raising an eyebrow, Drax sighed, "Really Pinkie, I don't think it would be appropriate. First of all, I just met you fillies, and I haven't even met your other friends yet. And second, unless you mares are all bisexual, I am pretty damn sure I will not be able to satisfy all of you, and that just wouldn't be much fun would it?"

He looked around, noticing that suddenly none of them would look at him. They all were blushing and finding other things to look at. Rainbow Dash was just looking at the sky, but her wings were straight up, and broadcasting her thoughts.

"Oh you have got to be shitting me?" He facehoofed. "The Bronies would have a field day with this... And besides! Look at poor Fluttershy! You are embarrassing her to death!"

The pony in question was again huddled, her wing covering her face, and her body and mane the same color pink.

Pinkie looked at her feet, "Soowwweee... I didn't mean anything by it Fluttershy. I forgot how sensitive you are and all. Maybe we can have a nice quiet dance party instead? I can get DJ Pon3 to play!"

Fluttershy opened her wing again, still looking shaken up. "Um, it's ok, I didn't mean to, ahh.. I'm sorry. "

Drax put a hoof around her, causing her to squeak. "C'mon Shy, what did we talk about?"

She lifted her head again, looking him in the eye, and renewing the blush that was just starting to fade. Then she looked at Pinkie Pie, replying in a level voice. "Ahem.. thank you Pinkie Pie. I would be glad to go to one of your dance parties. I just don't think I am ready yet for a.. a..you know. "

"That's ok Fluttershy! You are always welcome to any of my parties, and if you don't want to come, you are still one of my bestest friends!"

"Thank you." she replied softly.

Sighing and looking around at the others, "Ok, now that _that_ is all settled, can we start moving back to town? I really am getting hungry, and we have a few hours left to travel."

Fluttershy suddenly shot up into the air to hover. "Oh! I forgot, I need to get back now. The animals all need to be fed, and It's almost time for lunch! I will tell Applejack and Rarity we found you, so they can stop worrying."

Twilight waved farewell, "Thanks Fluttershy! Take care of your critters, then meet us tonight at the library. We can all get together and hear the rest of Drax's story, so he doesn't have to keep repeating himself."

Drax groaned, "Yea, that is getting old."

They all waved goodbye as Fluttershy flew off in the direction of her home, still throwing glances over her shoulder at the dark stallion, and blushing furiously.

Twilight turned to Pinkie, who was now making faces at Drax's rump, which he was trying to ignore. "So Pinkie, why is everypony looking for us anyway? We haven't even been gone a day."

"Ohhh... " She replied, "Well me and Fluttershy went over to see you this morning. Alotta ponies saw a bright light coming from the Library last night, but they thought you were just doin' Twilight stuff. But when the sun came up, somepony saw your door open, and we found you gone. There were all kinda creepy candles and markings all over the place. We thought somepony may have some in and foalnapped you or something. Rarity had to finish a rush order for Canterlot, so she stayed behind in case you showed up. Me, Applejack and Fluttershy decided to split up and look for you."

Twilight facehoofed at the mention of the front door. "I knew we were forgetting something when we left. But you didn't exactly give us much warning with that stunt you pulled, Drax."

In reply, the stallion gave a lopsided grin, "Oops, sorry. I wasn't exactly thinking about that sorta thing."

"Oh well, it can't be helped. Let's get moving. The sooner we get to Ponyville, the sooner we can tell our friends what happened.

Snapping a salute, Drax belted out, "Aye, aye, Cap'n! Full Steam ahead!"

They all chuckled at this, Pinkie Pie openly laughing just a bit more than it merited. They continued down the path, their number increased by one.

As they walked side-by-side, (Except Pinkie, who bounced) Drax began to whistle a tune to himself. Pinkie Pie, always ready for a new song, asked him what it was.

"We're off to see the Wizard!" He replied, with a grin. "Don't ask..."


	7. Chapter 7: Homecoming

Chapter 7: Homecoming

They were nearing the outskirts of town now, and the Apple Acres Orchards were seen in the distance. The sight of home cheered the group up, even Drax, who was still only a visitor. Seeing a place he had only imagined in his mind, or through the magic of television brought a tear to his eye, and a strange shortness of breath, which he did his best to hide. He felt.. _Happy_. A rare feeling these days for him. But then, it was the main reason he had fallen in love with the show.

Twilight was still curious about what had happened earlier, and decided to broach the subject. "Drax? What you said back there to Fluttershy, about her being a druid, and the Green Mother, what was that all about?"

"Oh. That. Ancient mythology on my world." he shrugged. "One of many things I have researched over the years. We had a group of people who worship nature, and believed in a living spirit of the earth. I've found that I am descended from some of those people, and it seems some of their gifts run in my family."

"Oooo... that's cool!" Pinkie Pie piped up. "So do they dress up all creepy, with robes and stuff, and party all night under the full moon and make virgin sacrifices and stuff?"

"Uhh.. I dunno. Legend says that stuff happened, but it's not an active practice anymore. It was hundreds of years ago. Most of the old beliefs were wiped out by new ones, and very few records were kept." He paused, "But anyway, I have a cousin that can pick up any animal. I've seen her walk up to critters nobody could get near and nearly strangle them when she was a foal.. err.. a child, and they wouldn't even fight back. They took anything she did, and never complained. Myself, I can make almost anything grow. All the females have a gift with animals, all the males have a gift with plants."

"I bet Applejack would love to have your help around the farm!" Rainbow Dash joined in, "There's always stuff that needs help to grow there."

"Yea, well the gifts overlap, I am also good with animals, although not as good as the females in my family. I think that may have something to do with why you girls seem to trust me so easily."

Dash looked indignant. "We ain't animals! We are _PONIES!_ I only like you because yer funny... But I don't like being called an animal."

"I know, I know, I wasn't implying otherwise. What I meant was, you aren't _HUMAN_. Hell even human children seem to be fascinated with me. Every child I meet just stares at me like I am the most amazing thing in the world." He sighed. "Maybe it has something to do with you all being innocent. Innocence seems to be a common factor between children, animals, and ponies."

Twilight and Rainbow Dash both giggled. The pegasus replied, "Uhh Drax? In case you forgot about last night, we are far from innocent fillies."

The stallion just scowled. "That's not what I meant. I am talking about the innocence from not living in a world of horror, hate, greed, and meaningless death. Not living in a society that crushes your soul, and demands more just to stay alive. Your world is a paradise compared to mine, and your entire world is innocent by those standards."

"Why don't you just laugh at the meany weenies when they try to make you sad?" Pinkie took a deep breath to start a song, but was cut off by a hoof on her muzzle.

"Yea, its kinda hard to laugh when yer getting curb stomped for being different. Just being the wrong color gets you beaten and killed in parts of my world." He stepped back and looked at the ground. "And I don't even wanna start about religion. Entire wars, killing millions, have been fought over differences of opinion on a book written thousands of years ago by people long dead."

Pinkie looked subdued by this, and just a little frightened. Some of the color faded from her coat, and she looked away quickly so that nopony could see the look in her eye. It was only a moment, and then the color returned, and she was back to normal, although without the smile.

"I'm sorry Draxy, I was only trying to cheer you up. It sounds like you come from a nasty wasty horrible place!"

"Meh.. It's easier if you were born there, but yea, it's pretty bad in some places. Just be happy you never have to go there, they would just as soon kill you or put you in a zoo as welcome you." He grimaced, "Just because you are different."

"Wow, that's pretty messed up, Drax." Rainbow Dash came forward and put her hoof on his shoulder.

He perked up at the feeling of love and acceptance from his new friends. "Bah, I'd rather not dwell on it. I'm here now, with new friends, and happy for a change. Lets get to Ponyville and meet some more!"

They all cheered, and trotted into the orchards they were now approaching. In the distance an orange pony could be seen galloping towards them. As they got closer they confirmed that the local farm pony was indeed coming to meet them.

"Well hello thar folks! Twi, Dash, you two sure gave us a start!" The earth pony walked up to Drax and eyed him over. "So who's tha new stallion in town?" She stuck her hoof out, "Name's Applejack!"

Rainbow Dash elbowed Twilight, whispering, _'I TOLD you she will walk up and talk to anypony!'_

Drax went into gentleman mode, sweeping up the hoof and bringing it to his lips. He then looked up and winked. "My name is Drax. A pleasure to meet you..." he replied smoothly, putting a deep resonance in his voice.

She pulled her hoof back with a bit of a blush. "Ohh, a real charmer you girls got here." Then she sobered a bit, "Yer not one o' them uppity city folk are ya?"

Drax broke into a giant grin and laughed, "Naw, Ahm jus messin wit ya. Ahm as redneck as you are, girl. My grandaddy was a coal miner. I just act all genteel fer tha ladies."

Applejack laughed at his flawless country accent, and punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Ahh like you! Yer allright pardner. Lemme show ya round the farm!"

"Ahh, actually, as much as I'd like to see the farm right now," he replied, dropping all the accents, "I really think we need to push on to Ponyville first. I need to get some cloths made, and it may be time to contact the Princess about my being here." He looked back at Twilight, who was nodding. "I especially am worried since I heard that prophecy from Derpy about..."

He was suddenly cut off as his vision was filled with the sight of a very angry orange pony in his face. "Don't. You. _EVER! _Let me hear you use that name!" Applejack was now directly in his face, very pissed and poking him painfully in the shoulder. That thar filly is one of tha most kindest, smartest, genteelest ponies you will eva know! And her name is _DITZY DOO!" _She grimaced, clearly very angry. "If'en I _EVA_ Hea _ANYPONY_ talkin bad like that 'bout her, they will have ta answer ta _ME!_"

His ears laid back, the stallion took a step back from the deranged mare. Her anger was palatable, and he did not want to provoke her further. He slipped back into his country dialect instinctively in defence of his actions. "Beg pardon M'am. Ah meant no disrespect ta tha Mailpony. Where Ah come from, there is still much debate over hah true name. She is known bah both names, and is onna tha most beloved ponies in Ponyville. We call her bah both names, but love hah all tha same." He gave a brief pause, seeing the mare stop advancing on him. "She gave meh a ratha grave message. Ah am worried that it maght affect mah future hea in Equestria."

Drax shook his head, suddenly aware he had once again began to mimic somepony's accent. It was a habit he wasn't proud of, and he had trouble controlling, but had saved him many times. "Dammit, I hate when that happens. Too much TV, and I have no accent of my own." he sighed, looking back at the now passive earth pony. "Sorry. My family comes from the earth, just as yours do, and sometimes I fall back to their ways of talking. I really do not mean to disrespect the name of the Mailpony, but her real name is still unknown where I come from. So She has been given several names, none of them are given out of malice."

"You sure do talk funny." Applejack replied, now eyeing him with suspicion. "One minute you talk all fancy-like, then you talk like a country-pony, now you have no accent at all." She shook her mane in disgust. "Ah'm not sure Ah kin trust you."

Drax merely rolled his eyes, smiling at the orange mare. "Truth be told, I don't blame you. Trust is a hard thing to earn. I trust very few myself, so I can understand. I also understand the value of honesty, and I hope you can learn to trust in that. If there is anything you ever want to ask me, you can trust that I will always answer the truth. It is my way, and has caused much hardship in my time, but I will not lie for any reason. I have lost friends, family, and much else because I refuse to lie, but that is part of who and what I am. There are many more parts however, so I ask you to forgive me for _being _who I am."

The earth pony was no longer eyeing him suspiciously. Instead she was looking at him with a bit of an appraising look on her muzzle. Suddenly she broke into a grin and rushed forward to embrace the stallion in a hug. "Ah believe ya, ya big lug. Nopony can lie ta me wit dat kinda face. Ah am tha element of Honesty after all, and ah kin spot mah virtue in others."

Drax grinned happily, returning the pony's hug, until she whispered in his ear, "Hmm... you smell mighty nice thar, fella..."

His smile faded as he backed away with a frown. "Dammit.. I have got to find a way to fix that. I cant have every filly in Ponyville sniffin after my flank."

Applejack looked confused. "What Ah say?"

Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle just laughed at this, and Pinkie Pie smiled knowingly.

Drax just shook his head, and sighed. "Don't worry about it. I will explain everything later, after I get to Ponyville."

On the way to town, Applejack explained that she was told by Fluttershy about their journey toward town. She had seemed rather distracted, and insisted that the animals needed her. The earth pony had abandoned her search, and returned to the farm, knowing they would pass that way.

"So where ya headed first in town?" She asked, as they trudged toward town. Rainbow Dash had started flying circles, clearly bored with the long trek by hoof.

"Well first thing I need to do is see Rarity about some cloths." Drax replied. "I hope she wont mind."

"Wha on earth wouldja need fancy duds fer? Ya goin so some shindig?"

"Trust me, I will need them. I'll explain why when we get there. I'm gettin a bit tired of repeating the performance." He grinned at her. "And you girls are in for one hellova surprize!"

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash started giggling at this. Applejack looked suspicious, but Pinkie Pie just cheered. "Yay! I Love surprises! Especially if they are Surprise Parties!"

"Whats so danged funny?" The orange pony snorted.

"Just wait and see. I'll show you at Rarity's. It's prolly best that Fluttershy isn't there though, don't wanna scare the kid too much."

"Yea, that filly is a sensitive one. I seen her run from her own shadow once." She shook her head.

Twilight spoke up, "Well you wont have to wait long. There is the shop up ahead. Hopefully things are quiet in town."

And it was. Being late-afternoon, most ponies were headed home for the day, and some shops were closing. Nopony paid any notice to the newcomer and his new friends as they strolled into town and approached the Carousel Boutique. Rainbow Dash had flown ahead to make sure the coast was clear and tell Rarity they were coming.

The elegant white unicorn met them in the main showroom, where she greeted them with open arms. "You girls! You gave us all such a fright. You dears really need to tell somepony when you disappear like that. The suspense was simply _dreadful!_ Do you have any idea what that sort of stress does to my complexion?"

She paused at the sight of the dark pony making his way in the door. "Oh, but I see you brought me a handsome stallion! And whom do I have the honor of addressing, my kind sir?"

Drax turned on all the charm, stepping forward and bowing deeply. "Greetings Mistress Rarity. Your fame and beauty precede you. I am called Drax. I hail from a far off land, and I come in need of your services."

Behind him, the other ponies were rolling their eyes, Pinkie was giggling.

Rarity was stunned for a moment, lost in the sound of the stallion's voice, but quickly recovered. "Oh my! You are quite the gentlecolt, are you not?" She offered a hoof, which he brought to his lips with a smile.

"Oh my, oh my... Where on earth did you find him girls?" Muttering under her breath, she slid up to Twilight, _"Is he taken?"_

Turning back to the stallion without waiting for and answer, she smile graciously. "My good sir, I would be honored to assist you with my meager talents. Whatever you may need, I would be happy to provide. So, what will it be, hmm? A new saddle? A suit for a party? No, no... I simply MUST do an entire outfit to fit your stunning colors! Your mane is almost as fabulous as my own, and I have just the fabric to make it shine!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at this, "Here we go again. Just like the Gala dresses, all over again. Trust me Drax, just let her design it for you!"

"Ahh.. yes. About that. There is something you need to know first before you start working. Applejack, and Pinkie, you are gonna wanna see this too, just to get it over with." He sighed and stepped back away from them. Rarity looking confused, and the other ponies just waiting expectantly. "Just promise me one thing. Don't freak out?"

Rarity waved her hoof in the air. "I'm a professional, my dear! I have seen many things in my years as a designer, and I can assure you I will not 'Freak Out'."

Chuckling darkly, he began to blur. He once again twisted and melted into human shape. He stood with his arms out, wearing only the blanket-kilt.

Rarity fainted. Applejack freaked out. Pinkie Pie just laughed, perhaps just a bit too loudly.

"What in tarnation are you?" The orange pony backed toward the door. "Yer some kinda freaky thing! Omygosh, yer just plain UGLY!"

"Well gee, thanks. I feel so welcome and loved." He deadpanned in a monotone voice.

"Well ya are! What kinda critter are you?" She stood her ground now, seeing as he hadn't moved.

Twilight stepped up to stand beside him. "He's a human. Long story short, I accidentally summoned him here. He's a friend now, and not going to harm anypony." She gazed up to him, and he reached down to scritch her mane behind the ears. "He's not so ugly once ya get used to him." She smiled and leaned into him to better let him scratch. "And these hands are amazing..."

Drax laughed at the pony's response. "Never met a critter that didn't love a nice scratch behind the ears!"

"Well allright sugarcube, Ah'll take yer werd fer it. But he still looks funny."

Pinkie had stopped laughing now and was still grinning. "Ooh, I wanna scratch too!" She bounded toward him, bowling him over and landing on his chest. "Scritchy-scratchy, my mane is itchy!"

He laughed and gave her frizzy mane a two-handed scratch, as her hind leg began to thump the floor like a dog. Twilight gave her a dirty look for the interruption, then stuck her tongue out before walking over to attend to Rarity.

Rarity was just coming to, and was confused to see Pinkie Pie sitting on the strange creature's chest with a happy grin on her muzzle. "W-what's going on? What is that THING? Where did Drax go? And why am I on the floor?" She got up and gasped at her reflection in a nearby mirror. "Oh no! I got dust in my beautiful mane! I must brush this out right away!

She excused herself to freshen up, and digest what had just happened, but was back a minute later looking her usual fabulous self, and back in control.

Pinkie Pie had finally let the human stand up, and was bouncing in place. "Yay! That was fun! You smell nice! Can we do it again later? I can't wait to throw a party and show you off to '..."

Her flood of words was cut off my a hand on her muzzle, but she continued to smile and beam her blue eyes at him. "Umm, thanks Pinkie, I get the idea. But lets keep it a small Party for now. I'm not a fan of crowds. And if the reaction of your friends is any indication, it's gonna be better if I attend as a pony."

"Okie dokie loki!"

Rarity was back in command of herself, and suddenly all business. "So this is why you need clothing? But of course you do, without even a proper coat of fur on your body. It must get dreadfully cold at night! And those strange hooves of yours, how do you walk without injury? I will need to make boots as well.. Hmm.. this will be a challenge. Your body shape is all wrong for pony clothing, so I will need to start from scratch!"

Drax shrugged, "I kinda like the cold, so it doesn't bother me much, but I do need some sorta protection. I was thinking more along the lines of a better kilt, but boots would be nice.

"Pshaw! I am making you an entire outfit. And I will NOT take no for an answer! It will be a first of it's kind and a masterpiece for my craft!" She floated over a writing pad and measuring tape, adjusting her glasses on her muzzle. "Now stand still, I need to get all of your measurements. Would you mind taking off that old blanket?"

Looking at the ceiling, he let it drop to the floor. Rarity gasped. "Oh MY!"

Twilight and Rainbow dash giggled.

Pinkie pie let out a foalish "Ooooohhhh..."

Applejack exclaimed "Mah werd! Yew _are_ funny lookin!"

Sighing Drax kept his eyes heavenward. "Yea yea, its normal where I come from, and one of the reasons I need some cloths."

Rarity regained her professional demeanor again, and started taking measurements. Rainbow Dash suffered another bout of laughter as she fell to the floor. Pinkie Pie just continued to stare innocently.

Applejack finally spoke up. "Welp, Ah's gotta be gettin back to tha farm. Ah's see you all tonight at tha libary. Take care Twi, Dash, Pinkie. Later Rarity!

They all waved goodbye, Pinkie Pie left to start planning the small party at the Library for later. Rainbow Dash excused herself for some "Weather Pony Stuff". Twilight was left behind, so she could guide Drax to her home when he was done.

Soon the measurements were done, and Rarity declared him free to go. Before leaving however, she quickly stitched a much better quality Kilt, which fit him securely, and settled better on his flanks in pony form. He reverted back to the pony shape, and thanked her again. She bid them farewell, promising the cloths to be ready by the next day. It was quite obvious that she was blushing as she waved them off to the approaching evening.

As they arrived at the Library, they both heaved a sigh of relief. Already he was thinking of his arrival point in this world as home. They both set about cleaning up the mess from the failed spell, and then crashed on some cushions to relax until their friend's arrived.

Twilight perked up a moment, floating something over to him. "Oh, I found this while we were cleaning. I don't know what it is, and I think it may have come though with you."

Drax blinked, then made a grab at the small black and silver object. "Holy shit! My iPod! How the hell did that make it through? It was on the stand next to my bed, but I came through nekkid!"

Twilight shrugged, "I still don't even know how YOU made it through. So what is an eye-pod anyway?"

Drax was tapping the device, frowning. "Bah, it's a music player, and a kinda mini computer. But of course it doesn't work here. Guess I need magic batteries or something. I'll figger it out later."

They both looked at each other, and smiled. Sitting back and relaxing while they waited.

"Thanks, Twilight. Thanks for everything."


	8. Chapter 8: Private Party

Chapter 8: Private Party

First to arrive of course, was Pinkie Pie. She brought lots of party supplies as usual. Balloons, streamers, and plenty of food from Sugarcube Corner. Most of it was the usual sugary confections, baked goods, ice cream, and sarsaparilla. There was even a big cake with the words **'Welcome Draxy'** on it. Drax groaned, glad that his sugar problems seemed to have gone away with his poor eyesight. He was also glad there was no hay or grass, not sure he could eat it even in his pony form.

"Well I was gonna bring some black and purple balloons, like your colors." Pinkie explained. "But then I realized it would be all dreary weary lookin like a funeral. So I brought lotsa bright colors instead!"

"That's fine Pinkie." Drax gave her a welcoming hug, and began helping place the decorations. "I appreciate anything you bring. I may be many things, but ungrateful isn't one of them."

"Yay! I like you Draxy waxy! I just know we are gonna be bestest friends!"

Drax winced again at the cutified nickname, then sighed. Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie. Then he felt his stomach growl. "Oh man, I hope the others get here soon. I haven't had anything since that muffin Derp.. err I mean Ditzy brought me."

Pinkie Pie giggled at his near faux pas. "Don't let Applejack get to you Draxy. She's just a bit touchy, and grouchy. Her and Ditzy were friends as foals, until she went to Flight School. Applejack used to look after Ditzy Doo, and beat up all the meany weany bullies that picked on her." She bounced around the room, boxing and bucking imaginary enemies. "Ditzy doesn't mind being called Derpy anymore, she is used to it, and even calls herself Derpy now. But Applejack never forgot."

"Yea, well I still gotta remember. Last thing I need is an angry, orange pony bucking my ass."

Twilight joined in, coming back from the kitchen with some more healthy snacks she was preparing in the kitchen. "Yea, it seems like not much of anything phases that little pony. She always has a smile on her muzzle and a muffin in her bag for everypony."

"Yes, she seems as nice as the fans made her out to be, but she still worried me with that prophecy." He shook his mane. "If it really was about me, then something will happen that will make me choose, saving this land or destroying it. And I don't like either choice to be honest."

"Why wouldn't you want to save Equestria?" Twilight looked puzzled.

"Well for one reason, I have never been much of an achiever. No big grand plans. Just happy to help my friends, and live my life." He sighed and looked both ponies in the eye. "And the other reason is, it would mean that Equestria _needs_ saving."

"Woooohh... " Pinkie was wide eyed. "That's deep! like meaning of life deep, n stuff."

Twilight shook her mane. "You have a good point there Drax. I really think I should write the Princess tonight. We need her input on this."

Drax shrugged. "Yea, yer right. I just hope she doesn't overreact, like everypony else has so far. Could you imagine a pissed off Sun Goddess? Or worse.. a scared one?"

"I've seen Twilight mad, and that was bad enough!" The pink pony replied with a shudder.

"It wasn't that bad Pinkie." The unicorn replied.

"Umm.. You turned white, and your mane burst into living flame." Drax broke in.

"Oh.. You know about that?" She laughed nervously, kicking at the floor with a hoof.

"Yeap, Episode 15, Feeling Pinkie Keen." Suddenly he facehoofed, realizing what he had just said. "I am such a Nerd."

Both fillies laughed at his self abasement. They went back to decorating as the others started to arrive. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash arrived next, with the yellow pony bringing flowers in a pot from the forest to Drax.

"Umm.. I.. ahh.. thought you might like these. Since you said you are good with plants" She hid behind her mane, blushing again, and not making eye contact. "I ..umm... hope you like them." She squeaked.

He bent down and lifted her chin to look in her eyes again. "Thank you Shy, they are beautiful, just like you."

She blushed again, and turned away from his gaze with a smile. Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes and giggled at the shy pegasus. "Why don't you two just kiss and get it over with already?"

Hearing this, the yellow pony meeped, and ran to stand behind Twilight. She peered from behind the purple unicorn, and stared longingly at the dark stallion.

He was busy glaring at the other pegasus. "You know, yer a real asshole sometimes, Dash. I may have to give you some lessons in discretion."

She just stuck her tongue out at him. "Meh, I don't have time for that stuff. I'm too busy being _AWESOME!_"

He just shook his head and sighed, then smiling at Fluttershy he raised the plant in her direction. "Thank you Fluttershy. I hope I can help you work on that mask some more, k?"

She blinked, then tossed her mane away from he face to look at him directly. "Yes, sorry. I am still working on it. Thank you." She smiled, sounding alot more confident.

He winked and grinned, "Right back at ya, Blue-eyes." She giggled in response, and visibly relaxed at his bantering.

"So, we are still missing two of the Mane Cast. Anyone know what's taking them? I'm famished!

Rarity and Applejack chose that moment to arrive. Applejack was carrying some apple pastries from her farm, and Rarity had a beautiful purple and black kilt for the new stallion.

"This will suit your colors nicely, darling. I plan to also do one with some green, to bring out your stunning green eyes and cutie mark. I should have the rest done some time tomorrow."

"Thanks Rarity! It's amazing. How on earth did you get a purple and black tartan cloth on such short notice?" He let her put it on him, still not sure if his unique kind of magic was up to levitating. He would have to give it a try later.

Rarity beamed under the praise. "Oh, a girl has to have her secrets, you know."

They all laughed. Drax walked over to Applejack and gave her a welcoming hug. Then they parted and pounded hooves. "Yer allright thar Draxie. Ya should come bah mah farm tomarra, and meet mah family."

"I would love to. I love growing things, and mebbe I can give you a few ideas to use. Where I am from, we have some rather advanced techniques for farming that may help here."

"Tha'd be mighty neighborly of ya, Drax. Ah look forward ta yer visit!" The orange pony beamed, and pounded him on the back. To his credit, he didn't flinch under the assault, but merely returned her smile.

Pinkie bounced up and down in excitement. "Yay! Everypony is here now! Lets start his PARTY!"

Drax cheered along with the rest, belting out a loud call of,_ "YAY FEWD!"_

They all settled in for the party feast. Pinkie Pie started a record player, with some party tunes. It sounded to Drax alot like Oktoberfest music, and he laughed as she tried to make up words to the beat. He was more determined than ever to try and get his iPod working somehow, so he could show them some music from his world. He has more than enough music and movies loaded to supply a party for days. If only he could get it to work!

After everypony was sated, the energy died down again with them all nursing full bellies and half-full drinks. Drax added alcohol to his mental list of things to recreate. _ 'Candy is Dandy, but Liquor is Quicker!' _ Even if the ponies didn't drink, he would hate to live without some beer!

Finally the party wound down, and the subject returned to him. They all sat around and stared silently as he began his story again, assisted by Twilight Sparkle on the parts he didn't know. Not a question was raised during the entire narrative, up to the point they reached Ponyville. Several glances were shot at Twilight and Rainbow Dash as their parts in the story were euphemistically glossed over. And Applejack exclaimed at Drax's theory that Fluttershy possessed the powers of a fledgling druidess. Only Rarity seemed unaffected by the tale, keeping a straight face the entire time. Her "Professional Mode" was in full effect and she seemed to take it in stride, although Drax noticed an eye twitch a few times during the tale.

When he was done, the other ponies just stared at him, not wanting to be the first to talk. Then suddenly Twilight broke the silence. "Well? What does everypony think?"

All hell broke loose. Everpony began talking at once, and Drax put his head in his hooves until they quieted down. Rarity was the first to break the new silence.

"So what are you going to do? You say you can do magic, you claim to not know why you are here, and the Mailpony gave you a Prophecy?" She rolled her eyes in disbelief. "That sounds like the plot to a bad novel."

"Yea, it sounds like one of those fan fictions you were telling us about!" Pinkie Pie jumped in, then slowly turned her head to stare at you, the reader. She has a knowing smirk on her face.

"What are you looking at, Pinkie?" Twilight asked.

The pink pony looks back, smiling brightly again. "Oh, nothing!"

"Well the one difference between a crappy story and a crappy life, is that I am living this, not reading about it." He threw his hooves in the air. "You don't think I keep asking myself if I have gone insane? Part of me keeps waiting for me to wake up in my bed, and get up for work. Part of me would not be surprised if I was in a coma from drinking too damn much. There is probably some idiot watching the show on a TV in the next room, and all you ponies are just a part of my diseased mind trying to survive."

"Well Ah dunno bout you, but Ah feel real ta me." Applejack responded. "Iffen you is havin a dream, then Ahm havin one too."

"Meh. I've seen too many strange things in my time to dismiss this all out of hoof." He shook his head. Real or not, I am actually quite happy with this reality. It's better than my old one, and if I am dying somewhere, then I hope I die still asleep there, here with my new friends."

After a moment of silence, Pinkie pie let out a mighty cheer. She was joined by the other ponies as they all rushed the startled stallion for a group hug.

"Thanks guys. You all make this old cynic happy." He tried to hold back tears of happiness, but was unsuccessful.

Rarity leaned closed and took a deep breath. "Oh my! You were right Applejack, he does smell DIVINE!"

"DAMMIT TO HELL!" was all Drax could say to that, still embraced by the herd of fillies.

After the other ponies had left for the night, only Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were left to finish cleaning up. Drax carried the rest of the trash outside, getting laughs from Twilight at his clumsy attempts at telekinesis.

"It makes me feel better there is finally magic I can do better than you." Twilight snickered playfully.

Drax just chuckled. "Well I can think of a few other things I am better at, after last night"

Pinkie Pie just giggled as Twilight blushed, and used her magic to throw a half eaten cupcake at his retreating flank. "You missed one!"

After he returned, he broached the subject of sleeping arrangements. Pinkie Pie jumped up and down and grabbed him in a hug. Oh ooh oh! you should totally come to my place at Sugarcube Corner! The Cakes are out of town on a vacation for a few days and there's plenty of room! Then tomorrow I can make you the most awesomest, yummiest, supertasticular breakfast EVER!"

Twilight spoke up, "Actually that wouldn't be such a bad idea. I need to write my letter to Princess Celestia, and I want to do some more research on what went wrong with the spell." She grimaced, glancing over at the runes that stood as testament of her miserable failure. "I really cant afford the .. umm.. distraction, tonight. I need some time alone to think this out."

Drax looked over at the pink pony, who was practically vibrating with excitement as she smiled hugely and shook her head like a rag doll. "Umm.. well if you think so, Twi. How bad can a night with Pinkie be?"

'_Lord have mercy on my soul...' _he thought to himself.

"Aww.. you don't have to put it that way..." The earth pony frowned, just for a moment, then perked back again. "It's ok. We can have lotsa fun!"

Drax laughed. "That's what I'm afraid of..."

Even Twilight, already picking up a book, had to pause to laugh at this, as the odd couple walked out of the door into the night.

She levitated over a quill and a blank scroll, and set about writing her letter. She would get Owelicious to deliver it before dawn.

_ Dear Princess Celestia,_

As they arrived at the bakery, Pinkie ran around the shop, making sure everything was settled down for the night and ready for the morning. The Cakes had hired a temporary baker to handle the bulk of the morning duties, leaving Pinkie Pie to work on projects like deliveries and special orders. After making sure everything was right she led the stallion upstairs. He trudged slowly behind her, dreading what was in store. He always liked the pink pony, while at the same time finding her constantly happy personality a bit irritating. He did his best to keep a happy face on, not wanting to upset the energetic party pony.

After the way all the other fillies had been reacting to him he was not surprised to find she was leading him to her own room, where a massive four poster bed was centered. The room was entirely in shades of pink, with only photos of her friends, and a sad pile of rocks wearing a party hat in the corner breaking the color scheme. Gummy was nowhere to be found, and he assumed the pet gator had other living quarters in the house.

He shied at the entrance to the door, not liking where this was leading. He was just as male as the next guy, and didn't mind the attentions of attractive females, but this was getting to be a little much. He just wasn't used to this much positive female attention.

'_Dammit man, you are the luckiest Brony alive, what the fuck is wrong with you?' _He thought to himself. _'Gah, too many times being the nice guy, not enough time being a player.. that's what was wrong.'_

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Pinkie, why do I only see one bed?"

She bounced on the bed and did a flip in the air. "Because I only have one bed, silly! Now come on over and lets get cozy for the night."

He grimaced. "Really Pinkie? I don't think that's such a good idea. I'm not sure you are thinking clearly. Haven't you noticed the way everyone reacts around me?"

The pink pony frowned a bit, stopping in mid bounce. Somehow she remained in the air just a bit too long, before flopping down on her rump, a confused expression in her face. "Umm.. Well, Twilight and Dashie look at ya funny, and everypony says ya smell nice, and I really like you Draxy! But I don't see what's wrong with that. Don't you like me?"

Drax rubbed his forehead with a hoof, looking down._ 'Oh fuckin great, here it goes.'_ He thought to himself. _ 'Ok, Pinkie, you wanna do this? Let's do this.' _ He had been dreading this moment, but steeled himself for what had to be done.

When he looked up, Pinkie Pie was staring at him with her straight-browed serious face. The one that most ponies never noticed, but he had. They only saw the smiling, happy Pinkie Pie that she wanted them to see. But he had been studying people all his life, and he knew better. He could read this like a book.

Looking her straight in the face he replied. "No. I don't like Pinkie Pie."

Her face collapsed. Her mane started to uncurl, and the color faded slightly from her coat.

"Y-you d-don't like me?" She stammered, her lip trembling. "B-but... I thought we were gonna be bestest friends!"

He kept his tone neutral, even though his heart was breaking at what he had to do. "That's not what I said. I said, I don't like Pinkie Pie."

A tear rolled down her cheek. "But I _AM_ Pinkie Pie."

"No. You're not."

"I am! I really am! Nobody can be as pink and as partyriffic as me!" She sobbed. "If I'm not Pinkie Pie, then who am I?"

Still using all of his strength to hold back from rushing forward to embrace the distraught mare, he maintained a neutral attitude. All he wanted was to make her stop crying, and comfort her, but he knew this needed to be done. "Let me put it a different way. I don't love Pinkie Pie. I love Pinkamina Diane Pie."

The sobbing mare stopped a moment, more confused than ever. She blinked back tears, as her coat faded more and her hair went completely straight. "H-how? How do you know that name?"

"I know alot of things about you, your friends and this world." He walked over to sit besides her on the bed. "I know who you are, I know what you are, and I know where you come from. I see alot of what I once was in you, but like me you hide it from the world."

She continued to blink at him, still crying, but the sobbing had stopped.

"I am alot like you. We are social parasites."

She cringed at this, but he continued.

"We feed off the emotions of others. We make others feel happy so that we can feel happy. Without our friends we wither away. I see that in you just as it is in me. But I found another way."

He reached out and embraced her, holding her to his breast. "You see, you are alot like Fluttershy, but your problem is the opposite. Where she leaves herself open to the world, and must learn to create a mask to protect herself, you have lived your life behind the mask and no longer know how to show your true self."

She looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face, still not understanding.

"I was once like you. I learned early that if I hid my true self away, I could no longer be hurt by others. But my mask became my prison. The world saw me as the friendly fool, willing to do anything to make my friends laugh and be happy. Everypony thought I was happy, but I wasn't. Deep down I was never happy. Everypony loved me, but I never loved myself."

"You need to learn to love yourself Pinkamina. It is the real you that I love and respect. It is Pinkamina that I connect with the most. Pinkie is just the mask you wear to make people love you. But your true friends will love you no matter who you are. So doesn't it make sense to be your true self around your friends?"

Her tears had slowed, as understanding dawned on her. She looked up to him and trembled. "B-b-but... I _LIKE_ being Pinkie! Ponies love me when I throw them parties, and smile all the time. I don't want to be sad old Pinkamina!"

He sighed sadly, "But you _are _Pinkamina. You need to learn to accept that. Learn to love who you are. Pinkie is just a mask. Nothing more than a tool to use as needed, and then set aside. Be the happy pony at parties, if you have to, but be yourself around your friends. Let them love you, the real you. And most importantly, let yourself love the real you."

At this the last barrier of resistance broke, and she clutched at him, sobbing uncontrollably. Years of repressed emotion and self loathing flowed forth to be spilled upon his ebony chest and flow into his indigo mane. "It's s-so. So HARD! I-I-d-d-ont wanna be happy all the time!" She cried rivers as the pain and suffering of so many faked smiles and forced emotions flowed forth to be washed away.

He held her for what seemed like hours, letting her cry herself out. He just stroked her magenta mane and gripped her as she clutched against him in desperation. Finally the the sobs stopped, and the sniffling subsided. She looked up at him, and he saw the sight that made his heart leap for joy. The one thing that made all of this torture and pain he had put his dear friend through. All the pain he had himself endured. Being an Empath meant he shared the pain and emotions of those he was close to, and he shuddered to think how close the pink pony has come to engulfing him in her pain as it flowed forth.

But this was what made it all worth it. He looked down and saw Pinkamina Diane Pie. And she was _Smiling._

His heart broke and rebuilt itself over again and his own tears started to flow with the happiness he felt for the now healed filly.

She looked up with a brilliant smile. No longer forced, no longer fake. It was the smile of a newborn child, seeing the world for the very first time. It was the smile of_ TRUE_ happiness. It was the first true smile of Pinkamina Pie. And it melted his heart.

"Thank you." She replied quietly.

He responded by kissing her on the forehead, and she hugged him fiercely in return. The full force of the mare's grasp made him wince, but he endured it happily.

"You are most welcome, my dear, dear friend."

She wiped away the last of her tears, still smiling. "Whew! I really needed that! Thanks Draxy."

Suddenly she grabbed him close for a kiss. It was fierce and quick, with all the passion of her new found self-worth behind it.

"I really needed that too!" She giggled, then grinning wickedly, she shoved him back onto the bed.

"Whoah there filly!" Drax exclaimed.

The pink pony ignored his protests, and climbed on top of him. "I really need this too." She threw back her head and gave a shout. "WHOO! Pinkamina finally gets to party tonight!"

She then turns to you, the reader, and winks. "Sorry folks, this here is private!" Then grabbing the curtains around her bed, she pulls them closed.

"Umm, Pinks? Who are you talking to?" Drax asked quizzically.

"Shut up, and FUCK ME!" Was all she replied.

-Author's note:-

For the record, it really did break my heart to write this part. I was dreading it, which is why it took me weeks to start writing the story. I finally had to get really drunk, and listen to some very loud, angry music while typing this. It still made me cry. Ever cry while listening to Death Metal? It will fuck your head up, I promise.


	9. Chapter 9: Revelations

Chapter 9: Revelations

Something woke Drax from his sleep. Not sure what, he groggily blinked, taking in the room around him. Looking down, he saw a mass of cotton candy curls on his chest. Somehow he had reverted to human form, but couldn't remember how or why. Pinkie's hair had returned to it's usual curly mess, and she was cuddled up, sleeping on his chest, snoring softly. With a grin, he took a deep breath, taking in her scent of sugar, salt, and faint mare musk.

'_Pinkie may be the Party Pony, but Pinkamina was one hellova freak in the sack.'_ He thought to himself, _'Gotta love when repressed girls cut loose!'_

He rubbed his wrists, a bit red where the hoofcuffs had been earlier.

'_Oh yeah! Super-freak, super-freak, she's super freaky!'_

Gingerly he tried to extract himself from the pink mass, only to have her cuddle tighter, muttering half asleep. "Don't go yet, Draxy-waxy... It's too early..."

Grinning like an idiot at how cute she was, he considered that there were much worse places to be, none of them were important.

"**HUUUUMMAAAAAAAN!"** The sound made him come fully awake, as Pinkie's head shot up and her blue eyes went wide in surprise. Somebody was outside, and they didn't sound happy.

"Oh shit!" he cried, "I was afraid this was gonna happen."

"W-what? Who? W-whats going on Draxy?" the startled mare stammered, as they both scrambled out of the bed, and Drax dove for his kilt.

"**COME OUT YOU VERMIN! I KNOW YOU ARE HERE SOMEWHERE!"** the voice cried out, seemingly magic-enhanced to make the walls shake. The voice, never heard in anger before, was still unmistakable.

"It's Princess Celestia." sighing, as he fought with the clasp on his only piece of clothing. "She must of gotten the letter about me, and I am guessing she's heard of humans before. And not favorably."

"But you're a NICE human!" cried Pinkie, "She just _has_ to like you! You aren't like other meany weeny-pants humans."

"You haven't met any other humans. We don't have a very good reputation in the animal kingdom. Top of the food chain, means we step on everything below us. I may be different, but I'm still human, and that's what people see first."

As they rushed downstairs to the exit, Drax motioned Pinkie to stay inside the shop. "I don't know what's gonna happen, but it will be safer if you stay inside. I may have to defend myself."

"Be careful Draxy!" the frightened pony whimpered, "I really like you, and don't want you hurt."

With a grin, the human braced himself, took on his cheesiest heroic pose, and strutted out into the dawning sunlight to face the angry sun-goddess. She was not amused.

"**Human!" ** her voice was dripping with scorn, and barely suppressed rage. **"You come to defile my lands! Your kind are NOT welcomed here! What do you think you are doing in my realm, bringing your cancerous taint to my innocent subjects?"**

Wincing at the volume of her still magnified voice, the human rolled his eyes, replying "Well, apparently I'm being passed around like a bottle at a party."

The princess blinked, "What?" as the unexpected response startled her into dropping her amplification spell.

"Sorry, was a really bad joke. I'm just visiting, no harm, just making friends."

"A joke?" scorn still heavy in her words, "You think to mock me? I am the ruler of all Equestria! The sun raises at my command. I created everything you see, and I will NOT allow scum like you to mock me in my realm!"

Crossing his arms, he gave her another sloppy grin. "Sorry lady, but I mock everybody. I even mock myself. _Especially_ myself. If you can't laugh at yourself, then you will die alone and miserable."

"Funny you should say that..." Her anger tipped just a little to far, the white mare prepared a devastating spell. Her wings spread as her horn flashed a blinding white, then cycled through the spectrum of the rainbow. Rearing back, the light throbbed wildly and bolts of power crackled around her alabaster coat. With a lout _CRACK!_ she slammed both hooves down on the cobblestones and pure power lanced out from her horn toward the human. To his benefit, he never even flinched. He didn't even lose his idiot grin as the power slammed into him... and did nothing.

"What?" the mare cried as she saw this. "That's not possible... Who... _WHAT_ are you?"

With a heavy sigh he lost his joking demeanor, and threw up his arms. "Really? I dunno."

"What?" she replied, flabbergasted at the turn of events.

"I am being serious. I really don't know. I know what I currently look like, I know what I can become, I know what I was born as, and have spent this lifetime as. But as for what I really am? I just don't know anymore."

"What?"

Rolling his eyes, tempted to quote a movie line, he squashed the idea and tried again. "I am currently human. I was born a human 36 years ago. But in that time I have seen and done too many things, many of them not normal for humans. I have memories and feelings that are definitely not human. I believe once, I was something else. So what am I really? I Just. Don't. Know."

"You are still only a human." The scorn back in her voice, hatred building again like a smoldering fire sprung back to life. "You humans are all alike! Everything you touch withers. You eat and destroy, you poison the lands you live on. And if destroying the land wasn't enough, you turn on each other like rabid dogs. There is no virtue in your kind. You are like a plague of vermin, breeding and swarming over the land. And I will _NOT_ Allow your kind to corrupt my realm!"

"Well, I do have to agree with you there." Drax replied, quietly at first, but growing more stern as his own anger began to mount. He was growing weary of this. "I hate humans as much as you do. In fact, I am sure I hate them more. I have lived this life surrounded by them. You don't know what its like to hate what you are, or live a life persecuted for being different. Tortured, beaten and ridiculed by your own kind because deep down, they knew, you just didn't belong."

His anger and resentment growing, he began to shout, paying no heed to the ponies around the village that were now creeping out of their hiding places where they had fled when they saw their goddess fly down in a rage. This was something nopony had ever seen, or even heard of in all the history of Equestria. Their gentle and loving ruler had come in blazing like the sun in her rage, but was now being berated by this strange creature that had emerged from the sweet shop. And he wasn't quite done yet, as the princess even took a step back, shocked at the outburst.

"Yes Princess! _YOU DON'T KNOW ME! _ I have watched all my life as my kind raped and destroyed the very world that gave us life. My kind have brought war, famine, and disease to every corner of the globe, in the name of greed and hatred. I have spent that life trying to be something better, only to be dragged down over and over by the society around me. I weep for the animals, I cry for the planet, and_**I HATE WHAT I AM!"**_ The last part came out as a blast, mimicking the mare's earlier amplification spell to broadcast across the buildings around him. Flushed with anger and self loathing, Drax panted and glared at the white Alicorn, who had lost all her righteous rage, and was now staring down at her hooves.

"You're wrong" she whispered, clearly heard in the silence following the outburst.

"What?" It was his turn to look confused.

"You are wrong. I do know. I know better than anyone what it's like to live that life." Raising her head to stare him in the eye. "We all have secrets. It's time I told somepony mine." Looking around at the gathering villagers, all staring from windows and doorways, "But not here."

"Hmm... well then where?" Now over his rage, and curious where this was leading. "If you describe it..."

"I know a place, far away, even my sister doesn't know about it, and only one such as myself can get there. It is in a far away mountaintop, an old crater. I built a small house there long ago, and I..."

"Got it!" he spouted with a smile, and snapped his fingers. _The world went sideways._

"What the hay?" Blinking from the sudden change of scenery, the mare found herself in front of the house she was about to describe. "That's not possible... How did you?"

"Well, I have been doing the impossible alot since I arrived here. I have some theories as to how. Mebbe we can discuss them?"

Nodding, the princess lead the way inside. Using her magic, she unlocked and opened the door, and then motioned him inside.

"Ladies first!" he replied, beaming his most winning smile.

"Such a charmer, and a gentlecolt to boot." she chuckled as she walked ahead of him.

"Aww shucks M'am! Twert nuttin..." he drawled in his worst southern accent.

"You're funny. I may not kill you after all."

"That's mighty kinda ya M'am!"

They both laughed at the interplay as they walked into the small cottage. It was a quaint single-room affair, with a small table and chairs, and what looked like a day-bed in the corner. A fire sprang in the fireplace as they entered, and they made their way over to the table.

"I don't have much here, but would you like a drink?" She motioned to some cabinets, which opened as her horn glowed softly. Glasses floated out to them, and a bottle made it's way to the table. "Only sarsaparilla, but it's magically kept cold."

"Sure, I could use a drink after all that yelling." He grinned sheepishly, and accepted the glass. Settling back and taking a drink, he sighed. "So Princess, what is your story on why you hate humans so much?"

She didn't speak at first, only looking down at the golden grain of the wooden table in front of her. A tear formed and rolled down her cheek, and several minutes passed before she spoke.

"I must ask you to promise me something." she spoke slowly and softly, clearly having trouble bringing herself to speak of the matter. "I need you to promise, that no matter what, you will never reveal to another soul what I tell you today. Nopony in Equestria knows, not even my dear sister Luna. It must never be known that I was ever anything other than what I am today."

"I swear it. I have secrets of my own. Some I keep even from myself. I understand all too well that some things need to be kept."

"Thank you." she sighed, and braced herself for the story.

"_I was born a human, just like you. Like you, I was not normal either, although my differences were harder to hide. The doctors had some long, fancy name for it, but basically what it meant was, I was trapped in my own body. My mind worked normally. I could think clearly, and I could see the world around me, but my body was not mine to command. Whenever I tried to do something, I just as often would flail wildly, as move my limbs under my command. I was told I was a pretty child, but everypony..err.. ..body thought I was an invalid. They looked at me strangely, some with pity, some with scorn, others with fear. They thought my mind was defective, because I could not express what was going on in my head. I was called a retard, a moon baby, and other horrible names. But my mother loved me, more than anything in the world. My father... he acted ashamed. At first he avoided me, working most of the time, drinking and fighting with my mother the rest. My mother stayed home to care for me, and bought me things to play with. I would spend my days thinking of far off places I saw on the television, and dream of a day I would have a new body, and be able to play like other kids did. They were all cruel. Everyone but my mother. People teased me when she wasn't around. My father ignored me."_

"_I watched alot of television, and it made me happy for awhile. I would escape into the worlds beyond the screen, and pretend I was one of the people in the shows. My favorite was My Little Pony, as I am sure you may have guessed. I watched it over and over. My mother brought me the toys, and many times when my body refused to work, I would regain my calm by brushing their manes. I would often have seizures. It was a nightmare, as my body totally refused to obey me and all my limbs would flail. It scared me, it horrified my mother. Often I would black out, and wake up in a hospital. They told my mother that one day I wouldn't wake up from the seizures. They thought I couldn't understand them, but I knew it meant I was dying. Sometimes I wanted to die."_

"_Then I got older. My father still drank, and fought with my mother, but he didn't work as much. Something about hours at his job. He started staying around the house more. My mother had to get a job to help pay the bills, and my father was forced to watch me some of the time. That was when he started noticing me for the first time. He had always acted like I wasn't there, now he looked at me, alot. I didn't like the way he looked at me. It felt wrong, like on those Saturday morning cartoons, when they warned you about bad people. He started touching me. Usually he was drunk, and he would hug me. His hands would do.. things. I tried to hide in my mind, thinking of the Ponies. I would brush their hair for hours to try and forget what had happened. My mom didn't know, she only thought I was playing with my favorite toys."_

"_Then one day she came home early. My father had been drinking alot. He had undressed me and was taking off his cloths as my mother walked in. She started screaming, I started crying. She called him a freak, a monster. My mother hit him. He hit her back, and he kept on hitting her. Over and over she screamed as he hit her, until she stopped screaming. I was scared and crying, and I couldn't stop. My father yelled at my to stop, but I couldn't. My body was not my own. Then he hit me. I had another seizure. I don't know what happened next, but I must have blacked out."_

"_This time I didn't wake up in a hospital. I woke up here. Right on this spot in fact. It's why I come here from time to time. As horrible as my other life was, I know I can never forget it. At first I saw the sun, and the flowers, the grass and the clouds. I saw everything but me. I had no body, I was just a glowing ball of light. I could see through myself like a flame. At first, I had thought I died. My family was not very religious, but my mom had tried taking me to church. She thought maybe if the doctors couldn't help me, maybe God could. But the priests only told her to pray, and hope. I knew about heaven and hell from them, and maybe I had reach it. But I was alone. There were animals, birds, and such, but no people. And where was my body? Wasn't I supposed to be an angel now, with wings?"_

"_No. I didn't want to be an angel. I remembered the worlds I had seen on TV, and I remembered my favorite one. I wanted to be a Pony. I concentrated hard and found I could make my own body. I worked for weeks, trying to get it right. I didn't always look as perfect as I am now. Eventually I got it right. At the same time, I taught myself magic. I found I could do amazing things. And finally, I had a body that I could control."_

"_It was amazing at first. Soaring through the skies, running through the fields. I saw birds, trees, animals of all kinds. Yet, I was still alone. After months of solitude, the thrill of my new body and home grew cold. What good was this world if I had nobody to share it with? So I set in motion a plan. Again I worked for years, practicing first on animals I found. Some I gave intelligence, some I gave new bodies as well as minds. The dragons were one such experiment, but proved to be too aggressive to befriend. Finally I realized that what I needed was another Pony. Someone like myself, a Sister. This was something I never had in my old life. I created Luna, making her a foal at first. She awoke with powers like mine, but no knowledge of a former life to haunt her. She knew only me and our world, and for a very long time we were happy."_

"_We made a game of creating magic. We reordered the way the world works, so that the sun and moon were controlled by our wills, and the very earth changed around us. We worked on projects, making other magical creatures. Finally we decided we needed more friends. I knew that to give our full power to too many would cause trouble, so we made the lesser Ponies. First just the regular earth ponies that I remembered from the show, then later we made the Unicorns and the Pegasi. We gave some of them magic, the Unicorns could perform some lesser magics with their horn, the Pegasi could walk on clouds and move as fantastic speeds. The Earth Ponies were given a different magic, being stronger. They could run faster, and lift great weights. Over thousands of years, they spread to every corner of the land, which we named, Equestria. It was a perfect world, built by ponies, for ponies. And never would the evil of my old world contaminate the new."_

The pale mare finished her story, and sighed. She seemed to deflate, as if all the energy flowed out of her with the words as she spoke them. Tears were flowing freely down her dainty muzzle and her drink was long forgotten.

"Wow, that's pretty fucked up." was all the human could think to say.

Blinking away tears, the alicorn looked up with a wry smile. "Now you understand. I know you better than you think, and I know the horrible side of humans. I have watched them with spells, and seen the horrors they bring on themselves. I could never stand to see that brought here."

Rolling his eyes he replied, "Yea, well you shoulda told yer lil teacher's pet that before she summoned me. She was probably trying to use one of the spells you used to see the human world. Except, instead of a window, she got a door, and pulled my ass though it."

"Yes, my little Twilight has far more power than she could ever imagine. Somehow its attracted to her, much like myself and Luna. She just needs to learn to control it." Smiling fondly, "I think I will have to keep a closer eye on her from now on."

The human came around the table, giving the large mare a hug. "We've both been through hell, so maybe this is our heaven after all." He gently wiped away the remaining tears as he hugged her close.

Leaning in close, the princess sighed. It was very seldom that she got to be held like this, especially in her role as Sun-Goddess, and ruler of the land.

_*sniff sniff*_

"Mmmm... you smell good..." She murmured in a sultry voice.

Jumping back, Drax let out an exasperated cry. "_JESUS MOTHERFUCKIN HELL!_ Not you too!"

Princess Celestia let out a laugh, a deep hearty laugh that spoke of life and experience far beyond his own.

Shaking his head, "Yer fuckin with me aren't you?"

"Gotcha!"


	10. Chapter 10: Magic 101

Chapter 10: Magic 101

Drax shook his head at the Sun Goddess. He had been trolled by Trollestia. Talk about canon fodder! "Dammit, that's not funny Princess. These damn pheromones are causing way too many problems. It's hard to know if anypony is thinking straight around me if they all wanna jump my bones the moment they get near!"

The Princess was still chuckling. "Hate to break it to ya champ, but you are wrong again. If it were pheromones, I would smell them."

"Really? You too eh?" He flopped back into his chair with a sigh. "I admit I never have been able to smell myself, only others. But then what is causing it, and why does everyone say I smell nice? Y'know, before they start acting weird around me."

"Well, while I cannot smell anything unusual coming from you, I can detect a very strong aura emanating from you." She pointed a hoof in his direction. "This may be causing the effects, and the brain interprets it as a smell. I only know about the smell thing from the letter that Twilight Sparkle sent me, since the aura does not seem to effect me." She stifled another giggle with a hoof. "I apologise, but the joke was too good to pass up."

Drax rolled his eyes. "Hmm.. makes sense. Kinda like aromatherapy, in reverse?" Pounding a fist on the table, he made a frustrated noise. "That explains why my try at changing my smell didn't work. But then, how do I control it?"

The alabaster mare shrugged. "I really can't be sure. Its magic I have never encountered before. In fact all the magic you have been doing is something I haven't encountered before."

"Yea, I keep hearing that. My theory is, since I am unaware of the rules here, this world is letting me make my own. Just as you once did when you arrived. Now you are bound by those rules, but I ain't."

She pondered, a frown crossing her muzzle. "That would make you a creator, like me." Her frown deepened. "That can't be good. I came here without a body, just a mind. You came here fully intact. There could be... consequences to you having that sort of power."

He tilted his head at her, not liking where this was going. "What kind? I mean, it's not like I'm some evil being trying to destroy the world. Although.. there is the prophecy."

The mare perked up at this, her eyes going wide. "Yes, I recall that in the letter. Something the grey pegasus pony said."

Nodding he went on. "Yes, Ditzy Doo. She said something about walking a path, and choosing to save the land or destroy it. I still dunno what it means, but I don't like it either way."

"That is strange. I have met her before, and while a bit strange, she seemed harmless enough." She pondered the ceiling as she talked, recalling the event. "She was newly made mailpony of Ponyville, and delivered her first letter to me, from the mayor. Nearly crashed through my window trying to reach the balcony. She was such a sweet thing. I offered to fix her eyes, but she refused. She said something about muffins seeing better this way."

The human chuckled at the story, remembering his own cryptic muffin message. "Yea, that sounds like her. In my world, everyone loves her, and she doesn't even have an official name yet. They only just made her a main character, because of the popularity."

"Yes, Twilight mentioned that as well. They brought back the show, and now it's about me and my new ponies." She shook her pastel mane in disbelief. "It is just so hard to grasp that."

"Meh, if it's any consolation, the new show is massively more popular than the old one." He snickered. "Although the bad news is, not everyone likes you after some of the pranks you pulled."

She merely blinked in astonishment. "Pranks? What pranks?"

Oh, well, sending your sister to the moon for starters. It's become a running gag that if anyone pisses you off they get sent to the moon." Shrugging, he went on. "And then there are things like you setting up Twilight and her friends to make a disaster of the Gala. That would have been pretty mean spirited, if it hadn't turned out like it had."

She Sun Goddess looked down at the floor, blushing. "Oh, that. Yes, I admit it was a bit cruel at their expense, but I felt it taught them a valuable lesson about friendship, and tempering your dreams with reality. " She looked back up, her abashed look gone. "As for my sister..."

Drax held up a hand. "Say no more, I understand that one. And I am sure both of you suffered for that decision." He threw his hands up. "I'm not here to judge you, Princess. In fact I don't know _WHY_ I am here. But I know it's not to second guess how you run your kingdom." He grinned back at her. "That is, unless your next order is to send me to the moon..."

She shot him a look. "I'm not making any promises, mister!" but there was a smile behind her words, and they both laughed at the joke.

Sobering a bit, Drax was suddenly curious. "I gotta ask, was that what you tried to do to me in Ponyville?"

She suddenly looked a little scared, remembering her earlier rage and the complete lack of effect the spell had on the human. "Oh, that.. No. I actually was trying for disintegration. But it was like you just absorbed it."

"That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" he grimaced. "I mean, you are supposed to be the gentle ruler and all."

The mare sighed. "Yes, I admit, I was scared. I acted rashly to protect my ponies from what I thought was a horrible monster. The last human to visit Equestria made a mess of things. He didn't have any magic, but still managed to cause many deaths. It took a hundred years to purge the land of his memory, so my ponies could sleep in peace again." She shook her head sternly. "I was not about to allow that to happen again."

"Ouch. Sorry to hear about that. Makes me glad I am a good guy." He smiled brightly.

However the Princess was still looking at him with a grave face. "Yes, you are a good person. But I still sense a great darkness in you." She pointed a gilded hoof at his chest. "Just as your power is great, so is your darkness. And both seem to be growing." She threw her hooves wide. "I can sense the power flowing towards you. When my spell hit you, it was absorbed into you, and when you hugged me, I could feel my power being leeched away into you."

"Ugh, so what am I? A magic vampire?" He looked down at himself in disgust.

"I don't know what you are, and it will take time before we know. The power seems to be gathering very slowly. Even when you sapped my power, I could barely detect it. It may take years before anything manifests." She sighed again, seemingly weary. "In the meantime, you must be careful. Learn to control whatever it is you wield. And don't hurt anypony, or I _WILL _send your ass to the moon!"

Drax looked up. This time she wasn't smiling. "Umm, Yes M'am."

She nodded. "Good. As long as we understand each other, there is no reason we cannot be friends." Her smile and friendly nature reasserted itself, and she returned to the normal beloved ruler that everypony knew. "So, what do you plan to do first?"

Drax thought about this for a minute, still not sure himself. His mind and emotions were in an uproar over the recent events and he wasn't sure he could trust his own judgement at the moment. Finally he came to a decision and looked back at the waiting princess. "I want to go back to Ponyville."

She smiled brightly. "Back to your new friends? That's a good place to start."

It was his turn to look abashed, as he stared hard at the tabletop. "There's more to it than that." Pausing to formulate how to say what came next, "Last night. Something.. happened. I've only once before felt like this, and I'm still coming to terms with it."

Celestia tilted her head, a concerned look on her face. "Was it one of the ponies? What happened?"

"Well.. last night I did something rather drastic. I tried to help Pinkie Pie. In order to help her break out of the shell she had trapped herself in, I made her break down and see that she was trapped. We.. kinda bonded."

He stopped, not sure if he wanted to go on, his own feelings still in a tight knot around his stomach. "I hate when this happens. It's one of the gifts, or curses I have. Depends how you look at it. I have some small empathic ability. I can sometimes sense the emotions of people that are close to me. And sometimes, if I am very close to someone, I bond. Call it love, call it whatever. Now I am forever connected to that person. It will never go away, and all I can do is bury it deep inside me. Even if they hurt me and leave me, it stays with me forever."

The princess was still looking at him with a worried expression. "So, you mean to say?"

Letting out a massive sigh, he bit the bullet. "Yea. I think I'm in love with Pinkie Pie."

The mare burst into laughter. It was not the cruel mocking laugh he was expecting, however, but the clear merry laugh like a crash of silver bells. He looked up to see happiness, and joy in her expression.

"Soo... yer not weirded out by this? I sure as hell am."

"Why on earth would I be anything but happy?" She beamed at him "Love is not always easy to come by, and needs to be cherished when it is found. But does she feel the same?"

The human gave a wry grin. "Well ya see that's the thing. I'm pretty sure she does, because I can FEEL it. And it's her love that's partially responsible for my feeling this way. We are feeding off each other now."

She came around the table to put a hoof on his shoulder, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "And how does that feel?"

He started grinning like a maniac, and replied. "IT FEELS FRIGGIN AWESOME!" Then he threw his arms around her in a massive hug. They both enjoyed the embrace as friends, tears of joy running freely.

After a moment they separated. The Princess gave him an appraising look. "I think she is one lucky filly to have somepony like you. And I am lucky to have you as a friend in my realm. I would like to officially welcome you to Equestria."

"Thank you Princess, that means alot to me."

"Please, in Private, call me Celestia. There's no need to be so formal among friends, is there?"

"Whatever you say Celly!" He grinned.

In response, she stuck her tongue out at him and gave him a punch in the arm. "Don't go there buddy, only Luna gets to call me that!"

"Ha! So there is a button I can push! _MUAHAHAHAHAHAAH!_" he let out an evil laugh.

She shook a hoof under his nose, "I'm warning you! One of these days Drax, one of these days!"

Drax laughed and chimed in, "Bang! Zoom! Straight to the moon!"

They both laughed so hard they had to hold each other up.

Afterwards, he decided to demonstrate some the tricks he had invented. First he changed into his pony form. Celestia mock swooned over him and pretended to flirt. "Woohoo, what a stud you are!" She giggled like a filly as he posed and strutted. "Although, if you are going to do magic, you really should give yourself a horn. It would seem less conspicuous."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, I will be one of three alicorns in the world. Not conspicuous at all! I will be lucky if they don't start addressing me as Prince Drax."

She just shrugged, "I never passed a law that there could only be two alicorns. And believe me, a unicorn with wings will draw less attention than a pegasus doing magic. It's just how ponies think."

"Well if you think so Celestia. Let's see what I can do." He concentrated a moment, before giving out a startled yelp as a large purple horn burst forth from his forehead. "Ahh.. dammit to fuckin hell, that_ HURT!_"

Celestia snickered at the outburst, rolling her eyes at him. "Such a baby! It looks nice on you. But why purple? You are taking the color scheme a bit far aren't you?"

"Whats wrong with purple? My mane and tail are purple, and so is the underside of my wings."

"Well most unicorns have a horn that matches their coat."

He sighed and concentrated again. Suddenly the horn glowed and then seemed to fade out, to be replaced by an identical one in a gleaming onyx hue. It looked to be made of Obsidian, and glimmered slightly in the light. "There, happy now?"

"Much better, and so sexy! You make a fine looking alicorn, Drax." She thought a moment. "You better stay clear of Luna though, she might try to vamp you if she sees a male alicorn around!" She laughed again at this, ignoring his groan of disgust.

After a while showing off some other tricks he had been thinking about trying, they decided it was time to return. Most of the day had passed and it would be getting late in Ponyville soon.

Choosing to fly back to Ponyville, Celestia gave the dark stallion some pointers on flying. Not much instruction needed to be given however, as he seemed to be a natural in this form, whether in the air or on the ground. They arrived in the town just before dusk, and walked toward the library. As they knocked on the door, the portal swung open to reveal a newly arrived Spike, once again having resumed his position as Twilight's assistant.

He jumped back in shock at seeing the Princess and a dark stranger in the doorway. "Holy guacamole! Uhh.. welcome Princess, and uhh.. Hi guy-I-dont-know. My name's Spike!" Turning to yell he called up the steps of the library. "TWILIGHT! Yer gonna wanna come see this!"

The princess walked in, the dark alicorn close behind her. "Hello Spike! I hope things are treating you well. This is my new friend, Drax. I believe Twilight already knows him."

At this the purple unicorn in question came down the stairs. "Princess Celestia! Drax! What a surprise! I heard about the incident outside Sugarcube Corner this morning, and we were all worried that something terrible had happened." She looked at the dark pony. "Is everything ok Drax? I am so sorry I got the princess mad at you. If I had only known, I would have gone myself to tell her you are a good person."

The alabaster mare intervened at this. "Everything is perfectly fine, my faithful student. You did well in telling me about our guest. I, however, acted badly, and for that I am ashamed. It was ill befitting a ruler to be so harsh with visitors without first meeting them" She leaned down to nuzzle the lavender unicorn. "I hope you can forgive me for making you worry so about it."

Twilight was at a loss for words. Her teacher was apologising? "Uh ah.. that's ok Princess. I guess we all make mistakes, and it seems everything turned out fine." Here eyes went round in sudden realization. "Oh no! We need to tell Pinkie Pie! She has been crying all day, thinking you did something horrible to Drax!"

The three ponies exchanged looks, and Spike just looked confused. Drax spoke first. "Yea, I need to go to her then. Umm.. if you guys don't mind... I think I need to do this alone."

Celestia gave him a caring nuzzle, setting his eye twitching. He still wasn't used to this intimate contact, and from a god no less. She nickered at this. "Go on dear, you have alot to talk about with her. And I have alot to talk about with my student here. Especially about dangerous portal magics." she finished, with a touch of frost in her voice. Behind her, Twilight and Spike both gulped.

Drax nodded and ran out of the door. Night was beginning to fall, and he blended into the falling shadows as he sped through Ponyville. He remembered his wings, and took to the air, increasing his speed. Several pegasus ponies saw him and dodged out of his way, unwilling to interfere with the pony on a mission.

He landed in front of the bakery, seeing the lights still on, yet the store appeared closed. The sign was out, but the door was still unlocked. He let himself in, and saw there was nopony in the shop, yet he could hear sounds coming from upstairs, so he headed that way. As he approached the pink pony's room, he heard sobbing, and voices. He opened the door to see the pony of his heart sobbing into a multicolored mane belonging to Rainbow Dash.

Looking up, the two ponies set tear stained eyes on him, and merely stared for a moment. The moment was brief as the earth pony erupted off of the bed and launched herself at the startled stallion.

"_DRAXY! _ Oh you're back! I missed you so so so so so very much! I was so worried that the princess had banished you to the moon like Luna. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come back. I was falling to itty bitty pieces afraid I would never see you again!" She stopped and returned to sobbing, as he tried to once again hold her until the crying had stopped.

Rainbow Dash had still been sitting on the bed, staring in shock. She finally snapped to, and launched her own attack on the beleaguered alicorn. "You idiot! You stupid, stupid idiot!" She punched him in the flank, making his gasp at the sudden impact. "How dare you go and make the princess angry like that! You could have gotten killed, and then we would have lost a friend!"

Drax didn't say a word, just holding out a hoof to the enraged pegasus. She threw herself into his embrace as she started to bawl as well. Together the three just held each other until the pain had passed and the tears were all shed.

Later after tears were wiped away, he finally spoke up. "I'm sorry to have scared you girls like that. The princess and I had alot to talk about, and she was none too happy that I was here." He looked into the red eyes of the two mares, staring up at him. "I didn't have time to warn anypony, and we had to go far away to talk. But everything is fine now. Me and the Princess are friends, and I am going to be staying in Ponyville awhile."

Rainbow Dash backed out of the embrace. "So everything is cool now? You arn't going home to your world?"

At this the earth pony gripped him harder, burying her face in his chest. "Nooo! You cant go Draxy waxy! We just became friends!"

He lifted her face up to look at him. "I'm not going anywhere Pinkamina. I have everything I could want right here." He pointed to his head. "And the Princess even let me wear a horn!"

At this she giggled and cheered. "Yay! Draxy is staying! We need to throw another party!"

The blue pegasus was looking at the pair in confusion. "Pinkamina?"

Drax looked up at her, "Long story. Might ask Pinkie here to tell you some time."

Dash shook her head, "Oh no, I hate long stories. But I'm glad you are back. Pinkie here was a wreck since you left, and I have been trying to make her feel better all day." She suddenly put on a serious face. "I think the two of you have some things to talk about."

He sighed. "Yes, we do. But I want you to be here to hear it too. This impacts all of us, not just me and Pinkie." He paused and looked at the party pony, who had stopped bouncing and was now looking at him with a nervous expression. "Pinkie, my dear Pinkamina. I have a confession to make. Please hear me out." He paused and the pony just nodded at him. "I have been around awhile and seen a great many things. But one thing that has been very rare and hard to find in my life, is love. There have only been a few I have ever given my heart to, and every one has hurt me for it."

He paused, very nervous. "So, umm.. what I am trying to say is, Pinkamina Diane Pie, I think I am in love with you. I don't know if you feel the same, but I feel you need to know." He looked at the earth pony, who's eyes were now big as saucers, and brimming with unshed tears again.

Once again he was tackled suddenly, and pinned to the ground as she savagely kissed him. It was several moments, which felt like and eternity as they shared their souls in the embrace of newfound love. Finally Pinkie relented, and the both came up for air. The dark pony gasped, and laughed. "Wow, I guess that would be a yes!"

Pinkie grabbed his face in her hooves and started to knead it like puddy. "Of course I love you, silly billy, Draxy Waxy poo! After you helped me, my heart was finally whole. I didn't need to act happy anymore, because I _was_ happy. And I was happy because of _YOU!_" She embraced him again, and he returned the hug, stroking her kinky magenta mane.

He heard a throat being cleared, and looked up to see Rainbow Dash grinning at him, tears in her own eyes again. "Yep, still here guys."

Drax grinned back. "Yer not jealous, are you Dashie?"

The pegasus puffed up, "Who me? Hell no! Two of my friends are happy together. And besides, you may be good for a roll in the clouds, but I am too busy to be tied down with all that lovey dovey stuff. I am the best flier in Equestria, and I wont stop until everypony knows it!" She stopped and became very serious suddenly. "But if you _EVER_ make Pinkie Pie cry again, I will _BUCK_ you up _BIG TIME_ mister!"

"Yea, yea. You say that now, but then you get a headache, and its yer time of the mo...OUCH!" he yelped, as the rainbow maned flier smacked him in the back of the head with a wing.


	11. Chapter 11: Interlude

Chapter 11: Interlude

_{The end is approaching, but life marches on}_

Life soon returned to normal in Ponyville. Nopony ever connected the incident with Princess Celestia to the new pony in town. There was some rumor at first that he may be a distant relation to the royal family, left to guard against the creature that had appeared that day. But after several week of not asking for any special treatment, he quickly just became another friendly face in Ponyville.

The friends all agreed to keep Drax's true form a secret, and that he should only appear in pony form while in public. He only appeared as a human while around friends, but the occasional sighting lead to the rumor of a creature, coming from the nearby Everfree Forest to stalk the town. Nopony ever got close enough to get a good look, and soon the legend of "Bighoof" was added to the many mysteries of living near the mystical forest.

As for his life in Ponyville, it was peaceful. He was always kept busy helping his friends with various projects, and he never lacked for a place to sleep. Yet despite the many attempts to seduce him, he remained faithful to the hyper pink pony he loved. Pinkie herself thought it was a great idea to share her new toy with her friends, but the dark stallion managed to demure at each occasion, maintaining a "friendly" status with the other mares. Although there was the occasional rowdy sleepover at Pinkie's place, she never was able to get her wish of an orgy. There were some lines Drax was not willing to cross.

So time marched on, as it always does, and the dark alicorn became comfortable in his new life in Equestria. Adventures were had, friends made, life, love and tragedy. Yet despite his happiness, the secrets revealed by Celestia haunted him. Almost as much as the eerie prophecy that had yet to pass. Or had it?

Traveling the edges of the Everfree Forest was one of the few times Drax could openly use his human form. Few ponies ever ventured into the forest, and if he was seen, it was chalked up to another sighting of the mysterious 'Bighoof'. His latest mission, being recruited by Fluttershy, was to find some special herbs. His hands were far better at gathering plants than even his magic could do. Granted, it was getting better with practice, but he always loved working with his hands anyway.

Every so often he would pause, and scan the area. Something was following him, but he paid it little heed. The creatures of the forest mostly avoided him in this form, and the few aggressive creatures quickly learned not to bother the biped as he roamed the forest. Having one's stinger forcible inserted into a tender opening tended to deter even the the crankiest of manticores.

Soon he was done with his gathering, and decided to head back to Fluttershy's cottage with his spoils. As he rounded a tree, he knew something was wrong just a moment before the trap went off. A loud snap, and a groan was all the warning he got before a net sprung up around him, hauling him into the tree above. He wasn't worried about the situation, but neither was he amused. He was even less amused when three foals shot out of the woods, covered in hoof-made ghillie suits.

"_**CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, JUNIOR DETECTIVES, YAY!"**_ The sound blasted out like a grenade, making his ears hurt and his teeth rattle.

"Oh great. I got caught by the foal scouts." he sighed to himself, trying not to laugh at the situation. "You fillies selling any cookies?"

All three fillies gasped in unison. They seemed to do alot in unison, like some sort of sugar-fed hive mind. "He can talk!" they chimed together.

"Of course he kin talk. How else does he gran wishes?" Exclaimed the yellow filly with the red mane.

The Orange pegasus retorted. "It doesn't grant wishes, silly. It's a mean nasty monster that eats foals!"

"I heard it helps people, but will trick you if you make a deal with it." responded a white unicorn with lavender and pink curls.

"Well to be honest, ponies are a bit stringy." The three stopped talking and stared up at the creature in the net, now looking down at them. Fear was plain on their faces. "However, a nice tender foal is delicious if you braise it slowly over hot coals. Muahahahahahaha!" he ended with his most evil laugh.

"_****__*gasp*__**!" **_ The forest was once again shattered by the voices of the three young foals, now holding each other and screaming for all they were worth. It went on until the yellow one, wearing a large red bow, noticed that the creature was still laughing, but not in a menacing way. She shook the other two to get their attention and stop them screaming.

"Wow. Fit a whole two lungfuls into that one, didn'ja?" Drax continued to laugh as the three girls stared at him. "Oh c'mon! Can't ya take a joke? It's the least you can do after getting me stuck in this thing."

"So yer not gonna eat us?" Responded the orange filly.

"Naw, I haven't had meat since I moved to Ponyville." He chuckled as they all gulped at the implication. "Hard to make friends if they are afraid you are gonna eat em!"

The white unicorn perked up at this. "You wanna be friends with ponies?"

"Ah don trust 'im!" piped up the yellow earth pony.

"Actually, I already have alot of pony friends." He grinned at them. "I help folks out alot around town, and most never know I am there."

"I think yer right, Applebloom." The pegasus filly growled. "I don't trust him either. I still say hes a mean monster that likes to carry away foals to eat em!"

"Am not!" Retorted Drax.

All three foals turned and yelled back. "Are too!"

"_Am not!"_

"_Are too!"_

"_Am not!"_

"_Are too!"_

"_Am not!"_

"_Are too!"_

"_Am not!"_

"_Are too!"_

"_Am not!"_

"_Are too!"_

"_Am not!"_

"_Are too!"_

"_Am not!"_

"_Are too!"_

As this was going on, a yellow pegasus moved into the area, hearing the shouting and wondering what had gotten the three girls so worked up. She was shocked at what she saw, and at first was afraid to reveal herself. Then she realised that the creature in the net was somepony she knew, and steeled herself to confront the situation. Gathering her courage, she put on her mask of assertiveness, just like Drax had taught her and strode into the clearing.

"Girls!" she squeaked. But was not loud enough to be heard

"Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!"

"Umm.. girls, please."

"Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!"

"GIRLS, PLEASE!" She managed to yell, barely above a talking tone.

The effect was immediate. The group stopped instantly and all faced the now glaring Fluttershy. Well, as much as she was capable of glaring, when not using _"The Stare"_.

"Please girls, umm.. stop what you are doing. Please let that man out of the net, and stop yelling." She looked up at the human, who was now grinning like a fool in the net at the situation. "And you! Why do you have to provoke them Drax? You know how excitable the are. _Meep!_" Her hooves flew to her muzzle as she realized what she had just let slip, and her eyes went wide in horror.

All six eyes turned around to stare in shock at the human standing before them, having blinked his way free of the net. The reality of who and what he was kept them stunned as if they had been hit by Fluttershy's_ Stare._

"Aww, sorry Shy. They snuck up on me and got me in this net." He smiled evilly at the four stunned ponies. "I was just having a lil fun with them for tricking me like that."

Applebloom, usually the most level headed of the bunch, was first to recover. "Mista Drax? Is that really you? B-but yer ah big black ally-corn!" She shook her head in disbelief.

He gave a sigh, and his smile faded a bit. "Yea, its me. Let me show you." and he began to shimmer. In a blink he had resumed his pony form, and sat down in front of them.

Scootaloo came too next, still looking confused. "But you hang out with Dash, and Twilight! You're dating Pinkie Pie! I don't get it. How can you turn into that.. _THING?"_

Sweetie Bell was next in the interrogation. "I think it's romantic! Like Pony and the Beast!"

Fluttershy had recovered enough to start falling over herself to apologise. "I'm so sorry Drax, I never meant to.. oh! Fluttershy, you are such a loudmouth!"

He walked over to give the shy pony a hug. "Don't worry about it Shy. It's ok now. These three would have found out eventually, the way they are always snooping around." _'Damn meddling kids!'_ He snickered to himself. "It's about time I shared my story with them. But on one condition."

The three looked at him eagerly and chorused, "_ANYTHING!_"

He put on his serious face. "You must Pinkie Pie Swear to _NEVER_ tell another soul, as long as you live."

All three chimed in again:

"_Cross my heart,_

_Wish to fly,_

_Stick a cupcake in my eye!"_

Drax grinned again, showing magically enhanced canines, suddenly appearing like fangs. "Good. I would hate to show you what happens to ponies that break promises..."

All three gulped in unison, their eyes grown wide.

And just as fast, his normal smile was back, and he plopped on his rump before them. "Ok then, here's the story of how I came to Equestria, and how I got my _CUTIE MARK!"_

At the mention of their favorite subject the three cheered just as loud as before.

Training for months with Twilight Sparkle, Drax managed to hone what she called his "Blunt Force Magic" into something more delicate and precise. He wielded some of the most powerful magic ever seen in Equestria, but it was like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly. At least, that was how she put it. Soon he had perfected telekinesis, and was able to move multiple objects with ease. Control was still slow coming, but he worked hard and his precision increased.

Again at the library, he was in the process of levitating himself, several pieces of furniture, and sorting away several books to their proper place. Years of multitasking had helped him grasp this quickly, but he still had trouble sorting what went where, as he tried to stuff a lamp into a bookshelf.

"You need to focus more, Drax! Let your magic senses feel each object, and catalogue where they are." Twilight was berating him again at his fumbling. He was still able to do more at once than even her, but he grew distracted too easily and mixed things up.

"Yes, Master Yoda. I will try harder." he snarked back.

She stamped her hoof in frustration. "Oooh.. why do you keep calling me that? It's not funny! This is a serious lesson, and you need to _FOCUS!_"

"Sorry Twi." he responded, still not even opening his eyes. "Old joke, from an older story. I am trying my best to focus, but I need something else to occupy my mind. ADD is a bitch."

"What's ADD?"

"Trust me, you don't wanna know. Can ya put on some music or something?" He tried again, getting three books to stack in a row, but then placing them on a chair, instead of the shelf.

"Oh, all right. But I don't understand how you can concentrate by adding more distractions." She clopped over to a record player and started a song playing. It was a soothing classical piece from Canterlot. Much better suited to a night of study than the usual party music he got around Sugarcube Corner.

At the thought of Pinkie Pie, part of his mind drifted. It was absurd that of all the ponies he had known, he would become closest to the one he had the least in common with. He had always had a crush on Rainbow Dash when watching the show. And her voice still gave him chills. But the Pink earth pony was the one he fell in love with. Her energy and enthusiasm tempered his normal cynicism and apathy. And her outgoing happiness offset his normal shy antisocial nature. She had helped to pull him out of his shell as surely as he had broken her out of hers.

Now she was more sedate around her friends, and not as manic. They responded to this by taking more time to get closer to the real Pinkie, and she blossomed into much more complex person. No longer was it just "Random Pinkie", but instead they asked, and understood her.

In turn, Drax had himself become more open. He had always had and incredibly open mind, but his heart had often been shielded from years of hurt. Now he openly embraced his friends, without having to hide the flinch that was his reaction in the past. Even his agoraphobia had nearly gone. He walked happily through crowds of ponies, without a care.

"Excellent!" Twilight cheered, breaking him from his reverie. "You did the best I have ever seen you do. That music really did the trick I guess." She smiled at him proudly. The life-long student, now a teacher herself. "I may have to try it myself, next time I have a study session."

Drax looked around, seeing that he had not only put every book on the shelf, but alphabetised them, dusted the shelves, arranged the furniture, and moved himself across the room. "Uhh.. yea. It helps to block out distractions, and gives the hyperactive part of my mind something to focus on." he shrugged. _'Yea, like a certain hyperactive pink pony...' _he thought.

"Well whatever works." Twilight came over and gave him a celebratory hug from behind. "If you keep practicing, you will be able to do amazing things with that talent of yours."

He smiled at the praise from his new teacher in magic, then she started to massage his shoulders from behind. He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling, before giving a big sigh and doing what he knew had to be done. "Thanks Twilight. But you really know better."

Twilight whined, a very un-Twilight sound. "Awww.. Drax. I miss how it was when you first got here." wrapping her hooves around his neck, she placed her chin on his shoulder. "Ever since you and Pinkie started going steady, it hasn't been as much fun with you."

"C'mon Twi, it was one time. It's not like we dated or anything." He turned and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Pinkie is my heart now, and I would never do anything to hurt her. So now we are just friends." He paused a moment, trying to keep his tone level. "Umm, and could you please stop stroking my wings?"

Drax sat at a table inside Sugarcube Corner. He was taking a break after the morning rush, now that the crowd had died down, he could focus on his latest project. His hobby of cooking had paid off, and he helped expand the menu of the little shop. Now they featured a full service breakfast menu, and hot food was to be had every morning, in addition to the usual baked goods. Sugarcube Corner was now and the best bistro in Ponyville.

Laid out on the table before him was the multiple intricate parts for a compact device. Even someone from his old would would be hard pressed to recognize the iPod in it's disassembled state. Months of practice had honed his skills and control to a level that he could move and control each of the dozens of pieces with clockwork precision.

Still more months of research and experimentation had lead him to a breakthrough in magical energy. He had found that certain gems could be altered to mimic his own magic absorbing abilities. Magical power could be charged into a gem, and act as either a capacitor, or a battery, storing it for later use. In the case of the capacitor, the energy could be released all at once, good for casting powerful spells that required more energy than the caster could supply. The batteries, on the other hoof, released a steady rate of power, and could be used to power other magical devices. What was better, since the battery also absorbed power, they slowly recharged themselves to capacity when not in use. And now he had a way to power his iPod.

Concentrating, he began to assemble the device, as all the parts levitated in the air. Each part came together with a precision that would make a watchmaker weep, and yet he still had enough concentration to watch the world around him. In particular, a energetic pink pony that was busy bouncing around the room, preparing treats for an upcoming event. She was all over the place at once, in her usual energetic Pinkie way, balancing a tray of dark cupcakes on her head, freshly topped. He grinned and reached out with his magic to give her a telepathic smack on the flank, sending her jumping into the air with a surprised shriek.

"Oooh! Draxy! Don't do that! You naughty, naughty pony! You almost made me drop the cupcakes, and I need them for the super awesome tasting party that I am having later. These are my super secret special new recipe I wanna try out."

Drax just grinned and swung the one cupcake that had actually fallen around in front of her. He had caught it as it fell, and now plopped it to her mouth for a bite. She squealed and chomped the treat, then dove into his lap. She gave him a big sloppy kiss, and he could taste the overwhelming flavor of dark chocolate and... something salty? "Sea salt?" he asked her with a puzzled smile, licking the still-warm frosting from his muzzle as they pulled apart.

"Yep! That's my new recipe. I remember that trick you taught me about putting salty and sweet together, and I wanted to try it on some new cupcakes!" She bounced back out of reach, never letting the plate of cupcakes move out of level. "So whatcha think?"

Drax grinned back at her, as the final pieces of the device on the table snapped into place. He seemed to be somehow better able to control his gift when he was distracted by the pink bundle of energy. His subconscious did all the work flawlessly while his mind focused on the pony he loved.

"Very yummy, but not as yummy as you." he winked at her.

"Yay! I'm super happy that you like them, cuz I worked extra extra hard on the recipe to get it just right." Pinkie squealed and bounced, blushing under his flattery.

He returned his attention to the device in front of him. "Well, here goes. Time to see if this thing works or not." He used his magic to press the power button, and held his breath. It took several minutes, and then the familiar silver apple logo appeared. He let his breath out in a rush, grinning as the device booted up.

Pinkie, seeing his smile, broke into a cheer.

"_Hip, hip, hooray!_

_It's a wonderful day._

_Draxy is so awesome,_

_The clouds go away!_

_He makes things work,_

_when trouble is in the way. _

_Cuz he's the awesomest pony,_

_Hip, Hip Hooray!"_

Drax winced at the horrible lyrics, but not at the voice. It has lost some of it's shrillness since her breakthrough, and now had a much warmer tone to it. The breathing exorcises he had taught her probably helped as well. And besides, he now loved her voice, no matter what its sounded like. However, no amount of practice could teach her better lyrics.

He looked back at the device, now booted up, and carefully used the tip of his hoof to unlock the passcode. With a smile he made his way to the stored music, and pulled up a music video. This was one that had always reminded him of the pink earth pony, and now he played it for her at last. Using an amplification spell, he filled the room with music from another world, and they danced until they fell down, laughing from exhaustion.

_Right right, turn off the lights_

_We gonna lose our minds tonight_

_What's the dealio?_

_I love when it's all too much_

_5 AM turn the radio up_

_Where's the rock and roll?_

_Party crasher, panty snatcher_

_Call me up if you are gangsta'_

_Don't be fancy_

_Just get dancey_

_Why so serious?_

_So raise your glass if you are wrong_

_In all the right ways_

_All my underdogs, we will never be, never be_

_Anything but loud_

_And nitty gritty dirty little freaks_

_Won't you come on, and come on, and_

_Raise your glass_

_Just come on and come and_

_Raise Your Glass!_

Manehattan. Home to thousands of ponies, and one of the economic hubs for Equestria. The rich, and famous, as well as the powerful lived here. It was also home to the biggest recording studio in the realm, and _THE_ place to get music published. Drax was here on invitation from the famous DJ Pon-3, to show off his iPod, and the music it contained. Sounds and music never heard in this world, but that had caught the attention of the famous jockey on her last trip to Ponyville, where she performed at one of Pinkie Pie's massive block parties. Despite his newfound confidence with crowds, he was still rather intimidated by a place with so many ponies at once. A lifetime of agoraphobia does not go away easily.

He made his way to the building he was told held the recording studio, rather annoyed at the flying restrictions imposed in the metropolitan spaces. _ 'Traffic lights, in the sky? Really?'_ But he still found the place, and walked into the lobby. After announcing himself at the welcome desk, he didn't have long to wait before the white unicorn with the impenetrable shades came down to meet him. Her look was rather distinctive, with the electric blue mane and the musical cutie mark.

"Draxy!" The unicorn beamed. "I'm so glad you could make it. C'mon up and lemme show you around."

He followed her into the elevator, which took him up to her private studio. They made small talk about things in Ponyville. Yes, he was still with Pinkie Pie. No, he wasn't looking to 'branch out'. Of course the elevator music was horrible, despite being in a record company building. Wasn't all elevator music bad? Finally they made it to the studio floor and exited into a rather well decorated pad. The DJ's personal studio _apartment_, in fact. He groaned, not liking how this was going. _Again._

Surprisingly though, the little pony refrained at making any passes at him, (other than the one in the elevator) and she showed him how the recording studio was actually built into her apartment. She showed him over to a comfy couch, where he could relax and talk terms.

"So, what do you think you can do with what I have, DJ?" Drax leaned back, as the mare stretched out across from him.

"Please. DJ Pon-3 is just my stage name. You can call me Vinyl Scratch." She smiled at him, slipping the large glasses up onto her head.

Drax stared a moment, and realized how much everything made sense. The bronies back home never did decide on a name for her, and everyone wondered why she always wore the glasses. Now he knew. "Wow, that's pretty damn cool lookin."

She rolled her eyes, which were now clearly visible, and just as clearly, two different colors. One eye was a brilliant emerald, and the other a sparkling sapphire hue. "Yea, they call it _heterochromia_. I call it a curse. It's not so cool when you are a foal getting picked on in school." She shrugged, and smiled. "So now I hide my eyes, and hide my name. It makes things easier."

"Well it's a shame, because they are beautiful eyes."

The unicorn blushed, and beamed under the praise. "I bet you say that to all the talented fillies that invite you up to their rooms!"

Drax grinned back and waved a hoof. "Naa, I see some ugly ones, and I call things how I see em. But they still try to invite me to their room..."

The both laughed at that. Vinyl had been around the dark alicorn enough in Ponyville to know his effect on other ponies. She had considered making a run herself, but was deterred by his obvious devotion to the resident party pony._ 'A shame.' _She thought to herself._ 'Too few stallions to go around as it is. And an alicorn to boot!'_

She cleared her throat, and began. "So, down to business. I am willing to record any of the songs you have for me. Since they are not from this world, there will not be any ownership issues. My label will take ownership, and issue half of all royalties to you from any sales. In addition to that, you will have a deciding vote on any derivative works I produce from the songs."

Drax nodded in agreement. "Yea I figured as much, you being a DJ and all. You will probably want to remix things for your performances. I have no problem with that. I do have one stipulation though. I want to be a silent partner. You will get all credit for the production of the songs, and I will keep my muzzle shut. You pay me half, and you get all the credit. I don't want anypony to know about me, or where I got these songs."

Vinyl Scratch nodded. "That works just fine. I will not be using all of the songs personally though. I have a few other friends in the industry that would make better use of some of the stuff you have. The_ 'Raggae'_ stuff for instance. I know a filly down south by the name of Robin Marely. She would do some great things with that sound down in the islands. Also, the _'Dub-Step'_, as you call it, sounds alot more like stuff a friend of mine is working on in Baltimare." She stopped a moment, unsure why the dark stallion looked like he was in pain. "Are you ok, Drax?"

Unable to hold it back anymore, he started to laugh. "Oh man, I'm sorry. The puns are just too horrible not to laugh at."

The mare looked confused. "What puns are you talking about?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you don't know my origin story yet." He sobered a bit. "Let's just say, my music is not the only thing that comes from another world. And we have alotta people and places with similar names."

Her eyes grew wide at this. "I _KNEW_ it! That story about summoning that device with a spell, it was just too fishy." She took off her glasses and started to twirl them. "Is it true? Did Princess Celestia summon you here to be her consort, but you rejected her?"

Drax winced at that. "Ouch! That's a new one by me Vinyl. No, the Princess never had any interest in me, and it was another pony that did the summoning." He sighed. "But that is strictly confidential!"

She waved her hoof at him. "Yea, yea. If you are in showbiz, you know all about secret identities. Yours is safe with me."

"Good. Now what else did you want to do?"

"Well, I remember you told me you found a way to make a portable power source. I know a pair of colts outta Fillydelphia, unicorns, that are absolute wizards at making magical devices. They are working on making a device to make synthetic music, as well as a portable one for playing back music, much like your gizmo there."

"Go on." He replied, very interested indeed. He was looking for someone to apply his new discoveries.

She continued, "Well it just so happens I know them well. They are also a performance group, and I have worked with them on some song mixing. They go by the name of _'Daft Pony'_."

It took several minutes for him to stop laughing this time. Afterwards they agreed to terms. It seemed that Vinyl was part owner of the company, as well as it's star performer. She had managed to spin her success into a profitable business, mostly run by her partner. This left her time for performances, and freedom to do things she wanted.

Many of the songs were recorded from the device, some for immediate release, and others for use as fodder for new ideas on music. Some of the genres that he had brought were completely unknown, and would be saved for later, when Equestria was ready for alternative music styles.

Within a month, a prototype was made for the music player, jointly developed by the two inventors and Drax, and was being mass produced under the name _'iPon'_. A week after that, "Equestria Girls" topped the charts as the biggest selling album in Equestrian recording history, and left all of Equestria wondering, _'What is a Bikini?'_

It was dusk, and the moon was rising. Princess Luna had been performing her duties for some time now, and it once again became second nature to her. As she sat staring at her work, she sighed sadly to herself. She was so happy to be back in the world, with her loving sister again at her side, but so far she was still otherwise without friends. Now that ponies had mastered the technology to light the night, they stayed awake at all hours, and for this she was happy. Yet her own shyness, and the stigma of what she had once allowed herself to become kept her from going out and making friends.

As she stared longingly out into the night, she heard her sister trot up behind her to join her on the balcony. It was moments like this that they were best able to be together, and she treasured every moment. But today, the sadness was stronger than usual, and even her sister's normally cheery disposition was hard pressed to pierce the funk she was in.

"Beautiful work as always my dear little sister." Celestia sat down beside the midnight mare, and gave her a loving nuzzle. "I so love having you around to make my nights worthwhile again."

Luna nuzzled back, but only half heartedly this time. "I love you too sis. But I'm just not feeling myself right now."

A worried frown crossed her face as she looked at her younger sister. "Whatever is wrong, you know you can talk to me about it. I will do anything to make my dear sister happy."

"It's nothing."

"Luna, you know better. Tell your big sister what's troubling you."

The dark alicorn paused a long time, gazing up at the stars, then steeled herself. "It's just.. I love you Celly, and I love being with you again. But... I still feel so alone sometimes." She turned and looked at the white mare. "I want some friends. I want to find love. I want to... belong."

The white mare ruffled the smaller one's mane. You will always belong so long as we have each other. As for friends, there is nothing stopping you from going out and meeting new ponies." She tolled her eyes. "I mean, sure, you may have to wear a disguise at first. It's not easy being a goddess in public. But once they see the real you, they will love you as much as I do."

The dark alicorn looked down, still feeling disconsolate at her position. "B-but... Celly? What if I want more than just a friend? What if I want someone to love? I don't want what I am to get in the way of them loving who I am." She sighed. "I am afraid nopony would ever see anything more than Princess Luna, or even worse, the pony that was once Nightmare Moon."

Celestia wrapped a wing around her sister. "I wish I could tell you it will be easy, but it wont. I have never taken a consort, because I could not bring myself to be hurt when they grew old and left me. But you, my dear sister, you still have a chance at happiness." She sighed. "It will not be easy, and there will be pain along the way, but if you search and have patience, love will come."

Finally gaining the courage to bring up her real issue, she timidly looked up at her sister again. "W-what about that other pony? The dark alicorn I saw you talking to before? Is he like us? Can he learn to love me, and not grow old?"

Suddenly standing up, a shocked look in her eyes, the Dawn Princess replied. "Drax? Oh no.. No no, dear sister. You can never be with him. He has a dark destiny ahead of him, and we must never become entangled in his path." She shook her head. "No, he is in love with another pony, and he has a dark prophecy looming over his head. For you to try to approach him would only find you hurt."

"But Celly! He's the only other alicorn in Equestria!" The dark mare cried, plaintively. "We were meant to be together. I can make him love me, I'm sure of it. Then we can be happy together, forever!"

The sun goddess stamped her hoof, now agitated. "NO! I forbid it. I will not see you hurt again, sister. You must stay away from Drax, or he will drag you down with him when his destiny comes to claim him."

Shocked at the sudden violence in her sister's voice, Luna took a step back. Then just as suddenly the dawn mare's feature softened again, and she stepped forward to embrace her younger sibling.

"I'm so sorry Luna, I really am. I just don't ever want to see you hurt, the way I hurt you so long ago." She nuzzled her sister then pulled back to look her in the face. "Please, Luna. Promise me you will not seek out the other alicorn. He is dangerous, both to you and himself. And I could never bear to let you be hurt that way."

Luna nodded, tears of frustration and sadness in her eyes. "I-I... I promise Celly. I trust your judgement. But I'm still so lonley..." she sobbed into her sister's pastel mane, and was held by the only pony that could ever truly know her.


	12. Chapter 12: Breakfast At Rarity's

Chapter 12: Breakfast at Rarity's

As the bits flowed in from royalties ranging from his music sales, to the newest innovations based off his mana cell technologies, Drax found himself to suddenly be a rather wealthy pony. While the sources of his new-found income was known only to his closest friends, he took great pains to make sure he did not change. He still acted the same old friendly pony, and still dressed the same as he always had.

The only real show of his new wealth was to build a house for himself and Pinkie to live in. It was a cozy affair, nestled just inside the Everfree forest, not far from Fluttershy's home. Like the library, it was built into a living tree, and resembled Fluttershy's cottage, yet with the usual Pinkie Pie flair. A garden of sweet berries and other fruits grew around it, so that the party pony always had something sweet to add to special recipes. The inside was decorated mostly in a perpetual party. Bright colors, and balloons painted on every surface, as well as colorful decorations all around. There was even a small dance floor for guests to enjoy.

The house was close enough for Pinkie to still reach the shop easily, yet afforded enough solitude that Drax could unwind in his natural form without the fear of discovery. He kept a study where he tinkered on new gadgets and recipes, and kept it as the calm center in the riot of color that was Pinkie Pie's decorating. Only bare wood for the furniture and walls, and he resisted adding any decorations, other than his shelf of books that Twilight had given him. Pinkie ran the house, but this was his sanctuary.

She still worked part-time at the bakery, but Drax himself had given up his job to pursue his own hobbies now. Before leaving he trained a new cook to keep up the shop's new menu. An old earth pony, with graying mane, and old scars from forgotten battles. He went by the name of Cookie, and his cutie mark was that of a rolling pin and a wooden spoon crossed. Claiming to be a veteran of the war, he often rambled on about old battles, yet nopony could remember any war within the last 1000 years. Despite his odd behavior, he could cook a meal from almost anything, and soon surpassed Drax's own cooking fame.

Despite all this, the dark alicorn was still troubled by some things. The prophecy had ceased to bother him, as his life drifted into one of quiet days, and rowdy nights with his personal party planner at his side. But still, he was troubled.

As he walked into the dress shop, he was greeted graciously by the unicorn proprietor. "Greetings Drax, darling! It's been so long since you have graced my shop with your presence." She whipped her main to show its curls to full effect, fluttering her lashes at him demurely. "What so ever could I do for you?

"Rarity, I've been thinking." He began slowly, still not sure how to approach the subject that had been troubling him the past few months. "We really need to have a talk about something. Something really important. Something private."

He looked around the shop, now larger than when he had first cam to Ponyville. Dresses were arrayed in racks, as Rarity had progressed from merely a dress maker, to a fashion designer. Her dresses were now made by a team of expert seamstresses, and she designed them for the masses. Success has done her well. No longer making a dress at a time for individual clients, she now designed clothing for all of Equestria.

He finished his inspection, settling on the white unicorn, now blank faced, and professional. Her voice was still full of it's usual refined charm, however. "Yes dear, I can see something is amiss. Let me just close the shop for lunch, and we can talk privately."

She made her way over and locked the front door, turning over the sign to indicate she was closed. Returning to the table where she had been sitting before he entered, she motioned the stallion over to join her. "So now, tell me, what could possibly be troubling you?"

Drax sighed. Just like his incident years earlier with Pinkie, he dreaded having do do this, but his instincts told him it needed to be done.

"Rarity, why do you hate me?"

She started, shocked at the unexpected reply. At first she thought it was another one of his twisted jokes that only he seemed to understand. Then she saw him looking her straight in the eye and awaiting a response. "W-what? What on earth gave you the idea that I would hate you? You are my dear friend! I owe so much to you for all you have done for me and my shop. Because of you I now own a dozen shops across Equestria. 'Carousel Designs, by Rarity™' is a household name in every city." She paused for breath, looking rather flushed. "Ever since that silly song of yours was released, everypony in Equestria wants those silly bikinis. And it was me that provided them, thanks to your designs." She looked at him sternly. "What on earth would make me hate you, after you have done all this for me?"

Still staring at the pale pony, he never so much as twitched a muscle during her rant. Finally he spoke up, in the same tired voice. "Rarity, you can's fool a fool. I know people, and I know ponies. I can read them like Twilight reads a book. And right now I can read you. Right now you are being as polite to me as you would to any annoying customer that dared to tell you how to do your job. There is no love in it. There is no happiness or welcome. Just a carefully modulated voice covering a loathing that you cannot afford to let show." He leaned back. "You really should have been a actress instead, Rarity."

The Unicorn just stared at him, a look of shock plain on her face.

"So I am going to ask you again, and I hope that you have the decency to give me an honest answer. So far every filly that's crossed my path has fawned over me, despite my best attempts to steer them away. Even Fluttershy, who is too scared to approach me, is obviously infatuated with me. She cant even talk and look at me at the same time. But you? Every time I talk to you, you either become a professional robot, or a total ice queen. I want to know why. Right now I would like to still consider you my friend, but that can easily change." He gave her a solemn look that brooked no argument.

Suddenly the shock faded, to be replaced by a grim determination. "You want the truth, dear Draxy? Do you _REALLY_ want the truth?" She threw her hooves up. "FINE! But on one condition." She pointed at him with a dainty hoof. "I know how you value your honesty, so I know you will not lie to me. Now swear, swear to me that what I tell you will never leave this room! What I have to say concerns dear friends of mine, and I will not see them hurt because of your bullheaded insistence on the truth."

Drax merely nodded, replying, "I swear."

Rarity sat back, composing herself, and staring back at the dark alicorn before her. He waited passively for her response, and it was quick in coming.

"The truth is, I don't hate you Drax. At least I don't hate who you are. But what you are is a different matter. You are a creature that does not belong in Equestria. Every day I see you I must fight down the urge to rail at your very existence. And what's more, I hate what you do. What you and Pinkie have done has made a mockery of love. It is an _ABOMINATION!_" She slammed her hooves on the table, anger rising in her voice. "You come into the lives of my friends, and you turn the magic of friendship into a disgusting mockery of debauchery and evil. Pony is meant to be with Pony, and you have destroyed that simple truth with your relationship with my friends! I see them fawning over you. I see you and Pinkie Pie together, and it makes me want to _VOMIT!_ Tou don't deserve her, and you are polluting her life by being here. _THAT _is why I hate what you are."

Drax sat back again, pondering the now panting mare in front of him. Her face was red, and her eyes were practically bulging. This was obviously a long time in coming. He merely chuckled, and then it turned into a laugh.

This took the mare back, not expecting laughter at her confession. She tried to regain some of her poise, and professionalism."What in Celestia's name is so funny?"

Drax stopped laughing almost as suddenly as he started. "You are Rarity, you are." he pointed at her and chuckled again. "I mean, I have seen some real cliche things in my time since coming to Equestria, but this one really takes the cake. "

Now confused even more, she shook her head and fixed him with a stare. "What are you talking about? What is cliche?

"The white pony is a bigot." and he burst into laughter again.

Enraged, the unicorn leaped to her feet, and growled between her gritted teeth. "That is a filthy and _DISGUSTING_ word. Take it _back!_"

Suddenly swinging back to sober and serious again, Drax shot back. "It's _supposed_ to be a filthy and disgusting word, _Miss Rarity_. I only call things as I see them, and right now I see a bigot, telling me that because I am not a pony, I am not worthy of her friends, or the mare I love. Well I have news for you _Miss Rarity_," the name spat from his mouth like a curse. "Your opinion is duely noted. I accept your honesty, and am much relieved to know how you really feel. But in the interest of our friends, I will forget what you have said here today." He held up a hoof, pointing it at her. "Don't get me wrong. I will never forgive you, but I will for now forget. But don't you _ever_ let it interfere with my other friends, or with Pinkie and me.

He turned to walk out of the shop, not even looking back at the unicorn when she shouted back at him, but pausing at the door to listen.

"Well let me tell _YOU_ something Drax. Pinkie Pie was _MY _friend long before she met you. She is still my friend, despite what you have done to her. And if you _EVER_ hurt her, I will _DESTROY YOU!_"

Before leaving the shop, Drax stopped to reply, "Poor, poor lonely Rarity. You really have no idea how love works? If I were to ever hurt Pinkie Pie, I would destroy myself first..."


	13. Chapter 13:Awakening

Chapter 13: Awakening

_Blood._

The first thing he noticed as he came awake was the smell. And the taste. It was something he had not experienced in a long time. The second thing he noticed was, he was not in his bed at home. This time he was not in a cozy little library either. It was cold, the air smelled of blood and the encroaching storm. He had trouble focusing his eyes, and his body ached all over.

_Something was wrong. Terribly wrong._

He reached out with his magic to sense what was wrong, and felt.. nothing. The magic was there, flowing around him like it always did, but his will had no effect on it. It was like the old world, where he could sense things, but had no power over them. His magic was gone. He began to stand up, and clawed the ground in frustration.

_Clawed?_

Everything snapped into focus again, as a shot of adrenaline coursed through his body, realigning his senses and kicking his brain into gear. He looked down and saw he indeed had claws. he turned his head, and found that his neck was far longer than it had been. Now he saw his entire body, long, lean and _reptilian_. He was a dragon. How was he a dragon? Part of his brain wanted to make one of his usual peanut gallery jokes, _'Never go full dragon!'_. he squashed the thought, it was no time for jokes. Something bad had happened.

He looked back down at his claws, and saw they were covered in blood. It was in the grooves under the claws, and _'Oh god, it's in my mouth!'_. Further realization sank in. His stomach felt distended as if he had eaten a meal just a bit too large to handle. _'Oh god, oh god, what have I done. What did I kill? WHO did I kill!'_ Panic started to creep into his mind, as he envisioned himself blindly going on a rampage among his pony friends.

He tried to wretch. He wanted to empty the contents of his stomach. All that came forth was some bitter bile. It seemed the dragon anatomy didn't allow for such things. Looking around for a corpse, fur, feathers, anything, he saw no sign of whatever had fell victim to his nightmare.

_Nightmare_.

He suddenly remembered. For the last few weeks he had been having nightmares. Dreams of violence, hunger, and blood. He had always awakened to Pinkie Pie holding him, and a craving for meat. He suddenly missed meat. After two years of living on a vegetarian diet, he had stopped craving it. Except bacon. He would always miss bacon. But now after each night he awoke craving meat again. He never told Pinkie about this. The last thing an herbivore wanted to hear is her lover was craving the flesh of another living being. And since all animal life in Equestria seemed to have some small level of intelligence... He shuddered at the thought.

He looked around, seeing he was under a large tree, and somewhere in the Everfree forest. The dark closeness, and dank smell of foliage and decay was unmistakable. There was surprisingly little sound for a forest. But then the presence of a large alpha predator tended to make the smaller creatures stay hidden. He needed to find out where he was, and how to get home. But first he needed to clean off the blood.

Despite a lifelong dream of being a dragon, he had never attempted to try becoming one here. He was happy as a pony, with other ponies, and being a dragon would just upset his new friends. Now he had become one against his will, and apparently done something horrible in the process. He tried again to reach out for the magic, willing himself to change shape as he had done so effortlessly before, but nothing happened. The magic that had become like breathing to him was simply not there.

Stretching his wings, he tested his new body. It responded just as naturally as his other forms, and other than a few stuff joints from laying on the ground, he felt fine. He launched himself into the air, glad to see he at least had some of the natural magic that Equestria seemed to give other large flying creatures. Wings alone would never carry his massive weight, anymore than a cloud would hold a pegasus.

Circling quickly to catch a dying thermal, he spotted a small stream, and in the distance, Fluttershy's cottage. He glided in for a landing on the bank of the stream, still noticing a distinct lack of wildlife. The smell of the blood alone would be enough to drive off most smaller critters. He washed himself as well as he could, cleaning his claws and head. He at least felt presentable, although the full belly still twisted in knots of guilt. How was he going to approach his friends looking like this? What would Pinkie Pie think?

The thought of Pinkie sent a icy shiver of dread down his back, tying his stomach in further knots. _'Oh dear Celestia, what if I hurt her?'_ He shook his head to banish the thought, but quickly swung it around as he heard a startled gasp behind him. Standing frozen in the bushes was a familiar yellow Pegasus, eyes round in fear.

"Fluttershy?"

The pony meeped, and shrank lower, hiding herself behind a wing and shivering.

"It's me Shy, Drax. Your friend." He slowly turned around to face her, lowering himself to all fours. "I don't know what happened, but I woke up like this, and I can't change back."

The shy pegasus unwrapped herself and peered uncertainly from behind her pink mane. All the old fear and shyness was back in full force. "D-d-drax? How are you a..? Why?"

Drax shook his head sadly. "I don't know Shy. I need your help. I can't go into Ponyville like this, and I need to find out what happened. I need you to find Twilight Sparkle. Mebbe she can find out what happened. And you have to find Pinkie Pie! Tell her where I am. I need to know she is ok."

Fluttershy nodded, still unsure. "O-ok Drax. You can come stay at my cottage while I go find them. Um... just .. ahh. Please don't eat any of my friends?"

He wanted to blurt out that he would never do such a thing. He wanted to. But the full belly and bloody claws proved otherwise. Instead he just nodded mutely and followed the gentle pony to her home. As they approached, most of the smaller animals that usually frolicked around the place scattered, hiding from the large dragon. He plopped down disconsolately, and laid his head on his claws. Part of him wanted to cry, but the rest just felt hollow and cold.

"Please wait here. I will come back as soon as I can with help." She quickly took to the air, an unusual sight for the ground dwelling flier, and sped away toward town.

It was a while before she had returned, alone and looking even more frightened. A storm was moving in and the wind was blowing her mane, tears streaked her face. The rain had not started yet, and they were clearly visible as she approached the cottage. She came within a short distance, but would not approach the large dragon.

Drax looked up, worried. "Shy, what's wrong? Where's Twilight and Pinkie? Why are you crying?"

She was panting in fear, and looked as if she would run, but she steeled herself and took another cautious step forward before losing her nerve again. "Umm.. T-t-twilight. Ahh.. she. Oh Drax. She says she will be here soon. She n-needed to gather some books." The lemon yellow pony stopped and looked at the ground, unable to go on.

"What about Pinkie? Oh god, please tell me she is ok. _TELL ME!_" He suddenly roared, making the frightened pony jump and back up several feet. "I'm sorry.. I'm. I'm just so worried I did something and cant remember."

Fluttershy looked up at the tears now welling in the dragon's eyes, and her natural loving nature moved her into action. She moved forward to comfort him, hugging his neck, which she could barely get her hooves around. "I'm so sorry Drax. I couldn't find her. I checked the shop, and I checked the house. She wasn't there." She stopped and swallowed hard. "D-drax.. there was blood. Blood everywhere in your house. I didn't find anypony, but somepony must have been hurt bad there."

At this Drax's mind froze. No. It can't be. Not Pinkie. Not again, never again. It was happening all over again. The last time he had given his heart to someone in this way, bonding on such an emotional level, she had died while he was away on a trip. She had died alone, and thinking he had left her. The guilt had eaten him for years, driven him to attempt suicide at one point. Only his friends had saved him, pulling him back from the brink. The wound was still there, scarred over his heart where it would never be forgotten. And now, it had happened again.

_And it was his fault._

He screamed. He roared. The forest shook with the might of his roar and the pain of his heart.

To her credit, Fluttershy never left his side. She cowered next to him, huddled in a ball, but she stayed there all the same. He turned to her, and picked her up carefully in his claws. The scared pony meeped, but still looked up at him, fear and compassion warring in her eyes. Then he brought her to his chest and hugged her. She hugged him back with all her tiny might, and together they cried. Cried tears of pain and loss.

And after what seemed like hours, they parted. She stayed with him as he lowered his head to the ground, all life gone out of him. He didn't have the willpower to even lift it anymore, and she just held him, whispering comfort into his ear as the tears continued to flow unheeded. She stroked his spiky mane, and told him everything would be alright. But he knew it wouldn't. He knew his life was over. The one thing he loved in the world had been taken by his own hand, and he didn't even understand why.

Finally he opened his eyes. He saw Fluttershy, beautiful, kind Fluttershy. Mother to all, with a heart bigger than a dozen ponies her size. Able to wipe away fear to offer kindness. Kindness she was giving him now, like the mother he had left behind as a child. But all the love and kindness in the world could not mend the emptiness that filled him now. He was hollow, empty. He was a monster. He had destroyed the one thing he loved. And now he had only himself to destroy to make things complete.

Getting up, he nuzzled the yellow pegasus, who looked at him sadly. "Thank you Shy. I am so sorry it has come to this, but I don't think I can be your friend anymore. I am now a monster, and as such I only deserve to live among monsters. Tell Twilight and the others not to look for me. I am going into the forest, and I will not be coming back to Ponyville.

The pegasus gasped. "No! Drax, you cant leave! Twilight will be here soon and we can help you!"

"No. Nopony can help me now. If I hurt Pinkie, then there is nothing left for me here. I must leave." And without another word he launched himself into the air. Fluttershy had to run for cover as the wind buffeted her from his takeoff. The storm was beginning to empty onto the forest, and she was soon driven inside by the rain. The last she saw of the dragon was a dark form making for the canopy as lightening flashed across the sky.

As he flew above the treetops, the lightening flashed around him. The storm was in full swing now, and the winds buffeted him. He ignored all this as he flew on, not sure where he was headed, but just heading away from Ponyville and his friends he had betrayed. He was approaching the old ruins of the Twin Sisters, when lightening stuck the archway. Brilliant light blinded him, but not before and image was seared into his mind. An image of a black pony, with dragon wings, and a violet mane.

Diving sharply he came to a landing at the entrance. Nothing was there, but he knew what he had seen. Making his way into the chamber, barely fitting through the entrance, he came to the platform at the end of the hall. There standing was something that both confused him, and yet made some sort of perverted sense. It was him. The pony form of him at any rate. Wings flared, and horned head held high.

"You have got to be shitting me. In a world of cliches and bad puns, I finally face the biggest one of all." He rolled his eyes and clawed the stones beneath him."Lemme guess, you are my shadow self, and now I gotta fight you for the princess and all that, yadda yadda, yadda."

The dark stallion shrugged, then grinned. "Took you long enough to get here. It's something like that. Except you don't have to fight me if you don't want to, and I'm afraid your Princess is in another castle... or something." He cackled evilly, and pointed a dark hoof at the dragon before him.

Drax suddenly wished again that dragons could vomit.


	14. Chapter 14: Atonement

Chapter 14: Atonement

_{The end is near. Repent ye sinners.}_

"What are you?"

The dark pony laughed at this. "Oh, come now. Surely you know." He waved a hoof in the air. "I'm _YOU!_"

Drax growled. "How is that possible? I am me, there is only one me, and there will always be only one of me. I am a flaw, an enigma, a freak happening. There can never be another like me."

"Oh what an ego. You are so special.. Oooooh! Look at me, I am so special that nopony can ever be like me." The doppelganger sneered. "Did you forget already? Oh that's right, you never told any of your pony friends you were a friggin schizophrenic."

"No. That's not true. I've always been in control. Each of my little mood swings has always been me, and I control them all. There is no way you are me, or any part of me."

"Oh really? What about that part of you that you hide from yourself?" The pony looked scornfully down his muzzle. "Your so called Dark Side. You kept me hidden away, only bringing me out to rage at how unfair the world was. You are such a pathetic emo pussy."

Drax thought hard. He had always felt that part of him, deep, dark, primal. He used to go into berserker rages as a child, but learned to control it, channel it. It had been a long time since that part of him saw the light of day. An now, reaching down inside of himself.. it was gone. Instead of the smoldering rage and resentment he always kept hidden, was calm. The scars were gone, and the hate wouldn't come. But he found a new kind of anger to take it's place. Righteous fury. The urge to avenge his betrayed friends. The desire to avenge Pinkie Pie.

"You. You are all that I ever hated about myself. My humanity, my evil, the part of me that used to delight in the pain of others. The part I denied long ago and have been fighting against ever since. _ I HATE YOU!"_

The dark stallion sat back and clopped his hooves together. "Oh yes! Now he gets it! I am one of your personalities, given life and power. And finally I have enough power to set up shop on my own. " He tossed his mane. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the power with me when I vacated. You weren't making proper use of it, and it rightfully belonged to me anyway."

The dragon started at this. "What do you mean? It was my power, and you took it."

"Haven't you ever noticed how much easier the power was to use when you were distracted? While you were busy ogling pony plot, I was taking control and making things work. I was the part of you that had direct control of the power, not you. And certainly none of the other facets of your fucked up mind. You needed me. But now I am strong enough that I don't need you." The pony laughed, long low, an evil laugh he knew too well.

Drax stared hard at his shadow self. Thoughts sped by at a frantic pace. If this was a cliche battle, then he knew all the steps, and now was the time for the talking to end. Gathering his strength, he launched himself at the dark pony, using the speed and strength of his larger dragon body. As expected, the pony merely jumped into the air to avoid the attack.

Drax was ready for this of course. He was used to tricking his own self, and using a different part of his brain to process more than one thought at once. Now it worked against him, but only to an extent. His wings shot up as he passed under the alicorn and clipped him, sending the doppelganger off balance and falling to the floor.

"Yea bitch, you forget how much I am used to fighting with myself in my mind. You really think having a real body will be any different?" The dragon laughed and turned on his fallen prey. There was nothing there to laugh at.

A large chunk of masonry impacted his head, making him see stars and stunning him for a moment. "Really, dude? I _am_ you. I know your moves, I know your thoughts. I know your thoughts about your thoughts. Hell, I _am_ your violent side, so I know fighting better than you!"

"Yes, but that makes me the part that has the smart ideas." The dragon retorted, as his tail snaked around and yanked the pony out of the air. The stallion yelped, and used sheer magic force to free himself, shooting out of the building and into the open.

Drax followed, taking to the air as soon as he was free of the entrance. He saw the pony hovering nearby, and took a shot at flaming him. The stallion easily shielding himself against the flame, but he didn't see the dragon rocket through the flame and slam into him, hurling him to the ground.

Stopping short of impact, the dark pony hovered in place, laughing. "Oh good show! I am the one that is supposed to be fighting dirty!" He then shot a bolt of pure magical energy at the dragon. As he was larger, and slower to dodge, the dragon took the hit, and shrugged it off. Being a creature of magic had it's advantages after all.

"Wanna try again, pipsqueak? There is a reason I have always been obsessed with dragons, remember?" He flexed, and readied another attack. He knew it was strength against speed at this point. But what he couldn't understand was, why he was being toyed with. The old him could have just ripped him apart telekinetically, or sucked the air away from him and killed him in vacuum, or worse. This so-called evil side was playing nice. Too Nice.

The pony smirked, and saw the thoughts at they passed through his counterpart's mind. "Oh now you finally join the party. Really, I don't see how I ever thought I was so smart, if you are taking this long to figure things out."

"You need me alive, don't you?" The dragon hovered in place, trying to puzzle the motives of the smaller creature.

"Well, I'm not a big fan on suicide. Well, not this part of me at least, I left that piece of shit behind when I vacated. I am still you though, so I need you alive to exist." The dark pony started to circle the larger dragon, taunting him, but the dragon just kept pace, hovering and rotating.

"Now comes the part where you get to choose. Remember the prophecy that retard told you? The dark path you get to choose? Well this is it." He stopped flying around and stopped before the large dragon. You get to choose, you can go home, and wake up. You can go back to your old life and forget this ever happened. You will continue your dreary little human existence and forget all about ponies."

A gleam came into his eye and he grinned savagely. "Choice two. You finally have your wish. You can remain a dragon, mighty and powerful. Live for hundreds of years. And as a bonus, I will even make you forget you were ever a human, or a pony. You will be a dragon forever more."

"How about the option where I rip you apart, and strip the power from your disintegrating corpse?" Drax readied another volley of fire, attempting to test the shielding the other self had in place. As he let loose a blast, the dark pony dodged this time, not wanting to fall for the same trick twice.

"Oh come on! Yer gonna just keep repeating yourself?" He spun around, and expecting the dragon to make another charge. Instead he was nailed from behind as a large rock was thrown at his head. He staggered in the air, and tumbled towards the ground, and the dragon followed, closing in for a kill.

Before the blow was struck though, he snapped out of it and teleported away, using his sudden disappearance as a chance to viciously kick the dragon from behind. Drax bellowed in pain, and spun to face the opponent that had teleported behind him. He barely slowed his decent in time to avoid crashing into the trees below.

The Darkness laughed. "I can keep this up as long as you can, Boyo. You can't hurt me, because I _am_ you. I can't kill you for the same reason, but you would be surprised what a dragon body like yours can live through." His horn flashed, and iron bands of force snapped the dragon's wings closed, causing him to drop like a rock to the ground.

The doppelganger landed on the ground before him, releasing his wings, but launching a bolder at his head, stunning him before he could react. "You know, I only need you alive. You don't have to be able to move, or even think." He paced out of easy reach of the dragon's attacks. "You should just take my offer. Choose your old life as a human, and forget this world, or just let me relieve you of the rest of that diseased mind of yours, and live a long life as a dragon. Dragons are fun after all! Look how much fun you are having tonight. You are big, strong, and if anything gets in your way you can kill and eat it." The dark stallion cackled madly. "Just like you did to your friends!"

"You know, I really believe you are my schizo half. Because you are fuckin crazy." The dragon retorted. "I think I would rather die than take your choice. Mebbe you shouldn't have left that piece of shit part of me behind after all."

"Wrong answer" The pony responded, and then the world went dark.

Drax woke with a start. His room was cold, and he pulled the covers over himself. He blinked awake, trying to remember the dream he had been having. Something weird as usual, and he couldn't remember any details, other being very pissed off. He groaned, and got up, looking around his room, just able to see my the LEDs of his sleeping monitors. He checked his watch, but it was missing, probably on his desk somewhere after a shower.

He got to his feet with a groan, and made his way to the bathroom. Never failed, no matter if he took a 10 minute nap, he always had to piss when he woke up. Finishing, he snuck back to his room before anyone in the house could catch him flashing through. Good thing his room was across the all. He hated putting on shorts for such a short trip.

After that he plopped into his chair and sat at his computer. Another long night of insomnia ahead of him as usual. The computer booted up to his familiar desktop, black space and colorful ponies. He really needed to get over this kick and move on to a new obsession. He already had one family member that was freaked out by it. Good thing they didn't know how bad it had gotten, heh. The image collection alone would probably get him committed.

As he made his normal rounds, he checked message boards and news sites, nothing new since he had gone to bed. That was not too unusual, since he kept weird hours when alot of the world was asleep. He quickly grew bored, and tried to find his watch again, but it was still not to be found. It was unusual, but he did misplace it when he took showers from time to time. It was the only piece of adornment he had ever worn other than his ring.

_The ring._

It was missing. That wasn't possible. He never took it off for more than a few seconds. It was as much a part of him as his finger it rested upon. It reminded him of his first love, who he had given a matching ring to years ago, before she left him, like so many others. But he still wore it always to remind him, that once he was loved.

In a panic he searched. He ran back to the bathroom where he had washed his hands. He tossed the bedsheets. It wasn't there. The only time he had been without was the time he appeared in Twilight's library.

_The library. Equestria._

In a rush, he remembered it all. The magic, his friends, the pain, the fight.

He snapped his eyes open. He was on the ground, the rain was pouring down in torrents, as lightening sparked across the sky. Before him was the dark alicorn, like a grim spectre of death. His eyes gleamed as he nodded, seeing that his ploy had failed. He shielded himself from attack. "What a pity. You would have been happier there, not knowing what you had lost. Now we have to go with option two."

With a crackle of power, he built up a spell, energy arcing from horn to wings and back again. "Say goodbye to your mind, dear, dear Dragon."

Getting up, Drax grinned insanely. He knew what had to be done. "No. I don't think so. I will die before you use me." And with that he launched himself into the sky.

He powered his way above the clouds, wings pumping and body taut against the raging storm. He put every last bit of his strength into gaining what altitude he could. The strange Equestrian magics enabled him to launch his body faster and farther than any normal flying beast could. No bird could match his power or peed. Only a pegasus could out climb him. He continued far above the clouds, chest heaving like a bellows in the rarefied air, and frost forming on his wings. His throat burned in the freezing cold of the highest altitudes.

He stopped, seemingly suspended in air as he reached his apex. Looking down he saw Equestria far below him, the forest and storm just smudges stretching to the horizon. Near the edges he spotted a break in the cloud cover. Small colorful dots flitted about, breaking up the edges of the storm, and letting the lights of Ponyville shine through. The moon gleamed a pale silver, muting the landscape, yet the colorful dots remained bright somehow. He knew these would be the magical weather ponies, clearing the skies and letting Luna's gift shine down.

From the corner of his vision, he saw movement, and looked up to revise his earlier thought. Nothing but a pegasus, or an _alicorn_ could match him. Hovering out of easy reach was his tormentor, grinning wildly. But it was too late, there was nothing that could be done to stop him. So he dove. He remembered all his studies on falcons, able to break the sound barrier by streamlining themselves in flight. He let the natural instincts of his predator's body take over, and he dove, faster than any living creature, save for a certain blue pegasus. Nothing would survive this fall, and at last he would be free.

As he broke through the clouds, the dragon shook his head. He was in a dive, but he saw no prey below him. With nothing to chase, he braked, and slowed his decent, stopping to hover above the trees. Something was wrong. He couldn't remember why he was diving, or even why he was here flying over the forest. He looked around, but no attack came, no prey was in sight. He should be in a cave somewhere, warm, with a pile of treasure and gems to keep him comfortable.

He glided down to a clearing, outside an old ruins. Long since deserted, there was nothing of value to collect for his horde, but it offered one of the few clear places to land. He tried as best as he could, but he could not remember why he was out on such a dreary night. The storm was blowing over, and patches of stars shone through. Looking up he saw nothing but sky, clouds and the occasional glimpse of the moon.

Something was very wrong and he couldn't remember what. Something had made him angry, but it was gone now. Whenever he tried to think about it, the thought skittered away like a dream after waking. He stomped around in frustration, unable to let the sense of unease go. Suddenly his stomach growled, and he remembered he was out to hunt. Yes, that must be it. His gem horde had been running low, and he wanted fresh meat to fill his belly.

Taking to the air, he flapped to gain altitude. The winds had died down and thermals were almost nonexistent in the cool weather. He managed to circle, looking for prey, and spotted lights in the distance. Yes, there was the town of Ponyville. A ripe buffet full of tender pony flesh, waiting for the picking. He could be in and out, snatching up a meal or two, and be gone before an alarm was sounded.

With a hungry grin, he turned his flight toward the sleeping town in the distance, thinking to himself, _'Damn it feels good to be a Dragon.'_

It would be remembered for generations to come as the Day of the Dragon. A Dark Dragon descended upon Ponyville, strangely immune to magic, and deadly black as the night. It came in the shadows of Luna's night, killing ponies by the dozen. The death toll was staggering, and the attempts to stop the creature left devastation in it's wake. The same night, the strange alicorn that had been living among them made an appearance, seeming to lure the creature off. Neither was seen again, but rumors spread that they still haunted the Everfree forest, and occasionally sounds of fighting could be heard on the night winds.

By the time the Princess arrived, the attack was long over, and only the grieving and rebuilding was left to be done. A monument was erected in honor of the ponies lost that night, and nopony would ever forget the evil that was visited upon Ponyville. The prophecy had come to pass, and the path of destruction had been chosen.

Chapter 15: A New Hope


	15. Chapter 15: A New Hope

Chapter 15: A New Hope

{Trollestia made me do it, I swear!}

Voices. He knew them somehow. He couldn't place who they were, and his mind seemed foggy, like he had been drugged and overslept. He fought the sleepiness and tried to listen. It was important that he listened.

"Did it work?" High, young, female.

"We don't know yet. It may take time for him to recover, if he recovers at all." Deeper, older, still female.

"It took alot of our power, and we still don't know if we got him in time. It was a very close call." Another young female voice.

'_Oh great, I am waking up in a hospital, and the nurses are checking out my junk.' _He groaned, and heard the others gasp at the sound.

"I think he's coming around!" The first voice was happy at this.

Then he tried opening his eyes... Bright. Too bright. Why was everywhere he went too bright. _'Damn daywalkers...' _ He tried to focus, and everything swam. He saw.. Sun? Clouds? _'Not a hospital then. Am I still at the crash site? Where's the paramedics?'_

Suddenly something large and purple came filled his vision. "Drax, are you ok? Can you talk? It's me, Twilight."

'_Twilight?' _ Then again for the third time, reality snapped like a rubber band, and everything came crashing down. "What the fuck?"

Princess Celestia sighed. "Yes, I guess that means he's back."

Luna just giggled at the profanity, and Twilight Sparkle looked down at him crossly.

He started to get up, and noticed he didn't have claws anymore. "No, really. _What. The. Fuck?_" He staggered to his hooves. Yes, hooves again. Pony Form. "What happened, and why am I a pony again?"

"Well," the lavender unicorn started, "You kinda died. Horribly."

The midnight mare giggled. "You went splat! It was quite a mess."

The Dawn mare stepped forward. "I'm so sorry Drax, but it was the only way. You had to die, so that the darkness would die with you." She motioned to a nearby crater, where a black tail could be seen brokenly jutting above it's rim. "We made you a new body, and pulled your soul back from the brink. Since the two personalities has fissioned apart, we were able to grab you and leave the darkness behind."

"Darkness?" he shook his head, clearing the lingering cobwebs. "You mean that asshole alter-ego of mine? I don't understand. The last I remember was, I was about to destroy Ponyville. I _FELT_ it! I turned feral, and nothing was left but my dragon instincts."

It was Twilight's turn again, they seemed to be speaking as a group. "That was an illusion. He was in your mind, making you see all that. He needed you alive to stay alive himself, and he tried to trick your mind into pulling up from your dive." She looked away nervously. "It didn't work. I..." she gulped. "I had to watch you die Drax. It was the hardest thing I have ever done."

Luna again took the lead. "We got her message when Fluttershy told her about you. We told Twilight to stay away, and wait for us to arrive. We had to combine our power to have the magic needed to pull you from the brink, and remake your body." She shook her head. "Wow, the things that go through this little filly's head!"

"Hey! Get outta there, the spell is over!" Twilight stomped, now breaking the cycle of speech.

The other two chuckled. "The good news is, you have a new body, and it's a true pony body." The alabaster mare explained. "You are a true alicorn now, and have all the strengths of the three pony tribes. Unicorn magic, Pegasus wings and speed, and Earth pony strength."

Luna piped up, "And you're immortal, too!"

Celestia nodded. "Yes, and you are immortal."

"Oh, and you aren't a walking pile of pony-nip anymore either." Twilight giggled. "Now you just smell like a normal pony to me. Although you are still pretty cute." She bumped flanks with him.

Drax flexed his new wings. No longer the wings of a dragon, but proper feathered wings. _'Aww.. but I liked my dragon wings.'_ He reached out for the magic to change them... and found nothing. He looked up in surprise at the sun goddess, still staring at him.

"Yes, that is the down side. Your Darkness still had the creator magic when he died, and it went with him. You have all the magic of Equestria, but no longer will you be able to make your own."

Suddenly he remembered why he had tried to kill himself in the first place. "Pinkie." He sank to his knees. "What if I don't want my new body, Princess? What if I don't deserve to live forever?"

"Drax, Pinkie Pie is fine." Twilight nuzzled him. "It was just a cut, it bled alot, but was easily stitched. She tried to follow you into the forest, but got lost until Rainbow Dash found her." She pulled him into a hug, as he numbly looked back at the other two mares, tears falling down his face. "She's at the infirmary, and it's taking everypony we have to keep her there, and not out looking for you."

Drax looked down at his hooves, still seeing the blood and the claws. "Then what did I kill and eat? There was blood everywhere!"

Luna responded, "Ugh.. you must have been craving bacon again. Yea, I peeked into your mind too, while we were stuffing it back into your body." She grimaced in disgust. "You killed a rather large and nasty razorboar, after it tried to attack you. Yuck.. meat is gross!" She spat out the imaginary taste and looked thoroughly disgusted.

At this the dark stallion laughed. "Funny thing is, I don't even like pork. But damn, I'd kill for some bacon!" His hooves flew to his muzzle when he realized what he had just said.

Twilight just looked at him funny, while the other two laughed.

"Well, I guess we better get back to Ponyville then. There is alotta explaining that needs to be done, and a very cute, pink pony that I need to fall in love with all over again!"

With that they all cheered and headed back toward town.

As the four ponies returned to Ponyville, a crowd was seen near the infirmary. A cheer went up from the surrounding crowd, mostly from the sight of the two Princesses, but in part from the return of the resident alicorn. Rumor had already circulated that something bad had happened in the forest, and it was a welcome sight to see one of their own return.

As they approached the tent, the crowd parted to reveal four ponies trying to restrain a fifth, with a large bandage around her head, and yelling at the top of her lungs. _"DRRAAAAXXXYYY!"_

Drax wasted no time galloping to her and throwing his hooves around her in a passionate embrace. His other friends all let out a collective sigh of relief that they no longer had to play nursemaid to the injured pony, and that their friend had made it safely back from his ordeal.

"I am so sorry Pinkie, I never meant to hurt you" The dark stallion sobbed into her frizzy mane. "I thought I lost you, and it nearly destroyed me"

Behind him, Twilight coughed, and he remembered that it actually _HAD_ destroyed him, quite literally.

Pinkie Pie giggled happily. "Don't cry you silly billy pony. I just didn't want you to go away when you turned all super scary dragon on me, and I got a scratch." She put a hoof to the bandage, then to his face, looking into his eyes. "It was all my fault for being a stupid twinkie Pinkie and trying to stop a big 'ol Draxy Dragon. I shoulda knew better. My hoovsies were pricking all day, which means something mean and nasty was gonna happen."

"Well we don't have to worry about that ever again. The dragon is gone, and now I am a finally a normal pony." He flexed his wings. "Looky, feathers!"

Pinkie's unbandaged eye went wide as a massive smile split her face. "Oooooooooo! They are pretty, like Dashie's wings!"

At the sound of her name, Rainbow Dash came forward. "Oh no, nopony has wings as awesome as me! I bet I can still beat you in a race, Drax, anytime you wanna try them out!"

Drax just stuck his tongue out at her, smiling. "Another day Dash, I need to get my little pony home for some tender lovin!"

Behind him, he heard a cough, and turned to see the two Princesses waiting behind him. Celestia stepped forward with a smile. "I guess this means the Prophecy has come to pass. You chose the path to save us, and paid the ultimate price. Now you can write your own destiny from here on."

Luna looked longingly at the couple, but merely smiled and waved farewell. Both Princesses made their way to the waiting chariot, boarding for the flight back to Canterlot. Celestia turned to spot Twilight Sparkle still standing near the reunited couple.

"Twilight Sparkle, my dear student." She called to her.

"Yes Princess?" the lavender unicorn eagerly replied.

"I think you had best have a good, long talk with Drax about what he has learned about friendship. I am sure he has alot to say on the matter now, and I look forward to hearing your report."

"Yes Princess! I will get right on it!" She turned to find the pair in question were already gone, and saw Drax carrying Pinkie, flying quickly away to their home at the edges of the forest. Turning back to the chariot, she looked chagrined. "Umm... That is, as soon as they are done, I will get right on it."

Both Princesses laughed as the chariot took them away to Canterlot. Twilight was left looking embarrassed as she returned to join her other friends, who were waiting to hear her story.

Epilogue


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue

Drax was again sitting at his favorite table at Sugarcube Corner, enjoying his favorite pastime. He watched as a bouncy earth pony flew all over the place at once, working on setting up yet another party.

She was a beautiful and happy as ever, no worse for the injury he had accidental inflicted when she tried to stop a very confused dragon from leaving in the night. The scar ran down the side of her face, but was barely visible. Magical treatments by Twilight would eventually cause it to fade away completely, but he would forever see it. It would remain in his mind and heart as a reminder of how close he came to losing her.

He turned away a moment to look out the nearby window, and into the wet streets outside. The weather ponies had scheduled a light drizzle to soak things down and give some relief from the summer heat. It kept most ponies indoors, and gave Pinkie Pie a day to set up for tomorrow's big event. He couldn't even remember who it was for, but it was something that Pinkie had been humming about all day.

As his focus shifted, he saw his reflection in the glass. For a moment, he was stunned. There in the reflection was not a pony, but a human face. His human face. The reflection moved of it's own accord, and brought a single finger to it's lips, begging silence. Trying to get a closer look he leaned forward, and the image was gone, replaced by his own pony muzzle, and the streaking rain outside.

He puzzled over what he had seen, but was soon distracted by the vision of a plump, pink, pony posterior. Pinkie was backing up as she pulled a streamer out to hang. He gave her a playful clop on the rump, and she squealed in delight. He couldn't help but notice that the rump was a bit softer than he remembered. In fact, while he was definitely in the Sir-Mix-Alot club regarding girls with some bodacious booty, Pinkie seemed to have really packed on some pounds lately. _'Tons of Fun, indeed'_ He chuckled to himself.

She was always a bit plump, but now she was bordering on fat. Her stomach seemed to be getting a bit bigger, and she was eating alot more than her usual fare. Which for Pinkie, meant twice a normal pony diet anyway. It was starting to concern him, and he finally decided to mention something.

"Uhh... Pinkie. I gotta wonder. You do seem to be getting a little.. umm, fluffier than usual lately." He paused as she spun around to look at him curiously. "I mean, I always love my little marshmallow pony, but you may wanna consider cutting down on the snacks, ya'know, for your health and all?"

Pinkie just giggled, and loud piercing giggle like the old days. "Oh Draxy! I know you love me the way I am. And I was sooo caught up I forgot to tell you the surprise!"

Drax started to sweat. "Um.. surprise?" He said nervously.

"Well, I been feeling a little funny lately, so I went to see the doctor yesterday."

"Umm, Doctor? And, what did they say?"

In response, Pinkie Pie stood on her back hooves and started singing, while rubbing her belly."

'_Our little Pony,_

_Our little Pony...'_

Suddenly it dawned on him that all the decorations were pastel blue and pink. Twilight's words echoed through his mind._ 'Even the three pony tribes cannot interbreed without special spells. And Princess Celestia is one of the few that know the cross-race magics.'_

Drax just facehoofed, yelling, _**"DAMN YOU TROLLESTIA!"**_

As the image of the happy couple faded from the viewing bubble, the Princesses of Equestria looked at each other and smiled at what they had seen. They both laughed at the dark stallions consternation, and knew he was just as happy, despite his protests.

"So, Sis? Did you have to make him a _fertile_ alicorn?" the darker sister asked.

The dawn sister replied with a musical laugh. "I figure it's the least I could do after we sealed away his power. And I remember it was you that decided to make him Immortal."

"Yes, well..." The midnight mare kicked at the floor shyly. "It's like you said Celly, all I need is patience, and love will come to me. Now he has all the time in the world, and all I have to do is wait." She looked up into her sister's eyes. "He's happy now, and I am willing to wait my turn. I deserve to be happy too, don't I?"

Celestia sighed. "And hopefully one day he will be ready, and we can return his power to him. Then you will never be alone again, and the two of you can rule together, forever ."

Suddenly a large pink mass popped out of a flowerpot nearby, shouting. _**"FOREEEEVERRR!"**_

Both alicorns jumped at the sound and faced the all-too-serious pink face.

"Dammit Pinkie!" Celestia cried. "I told you never to do that in the palace!"

The pink pony smiled brightly, "Sorry boss!" and disappeared out of sight again.

The white mare chuckled. "That Pinkie Pie, always so _RANDOM!_"

Luna just looked confused. "How the hay does she do that anyway?"

Celestia just laughed, and winked knowingly. "Even I don't know the answer to that one."

The dark mare shook her head, looking disgusted. "Those two are gonna have some really weird kids."

Final note: Yes folks, this is the real ending this time, I promise. I wrote the Epilogue as a pure fan service for all the folks that supported me while writing it. Most of it came from suggestions, ideas, and complaints made by fans, and I figured, why the hell not? Big thanks to all the Bronies on that sent their support, when other websites refused to host it. I hope you all had as much fun reading as I did writing it.

And Dammit, visit my DA page! I post my stuff there first, and not one person commented while I was writing this. Just look for Drax99.


End file.
